The last time England were at a global tournament they were such flops that they failed to make it into the last eight. Since then a total overhaul of their one day cricket has been undertaken and the signs have been very positive both in 50 over cricket and 20 over.
Form
In bare numbers England go into this tournament off the back of two defeats in South Africa but they were an awful lot better than the defeats suggested. They won three matches in the UAE against Pakistan prior to that and maybe those wins will have more relevance here.
England have arguably the most powerful and lengthy batting line up in the competition and it would be a big surprise if they don’t put up big scores. The success of their tournament will come down to how well their bowling attack performs, particularly the seamers.
Key men
Alex Hales is one of the best limited overs batsmen in the world and England will be looking at him to have a big tournament. He set the last T20 World Cup alight with his century against Sri Lanka and on Indian pitches he should be just as important. In the two years since that tournament he has blossomed into a much better player and he is a vital man at the top of the order.
Adil Rashid is going to need to have a big tournament for England to go deep in this event. England’s seam attack has the tendency to go around any park so Rashid might be utilised to slow the opposition down with wickets. He is improving all the time at this level and England need him in top form here.
Fixtures
Wed Mar 16 – Super 10 Group 1: England vs West Indies (Mumbai)
Fri Mar 18 – Super 10 Group 1: England vs South Africa (Mumbai)
Wed Mar 23 – Super 10 Group 1: Afghanistan vs England (Delhi)
Sat Mar 26 0 Super 10 Group 1: England vs Sri Lanka (Delhi)
Stats
Overall T20I record: P81 W38 L38 T1 NR4
Last 10 results (most recent last): LLWWWWWTLL
Record Vs group opponents:
Vs Afghanistan: P1 W1 L0
Vs South Africa: P11 W3 L7 NR1
Vs Sri Lanka: P6 W2 L4
Vs West Indies: P12 W4 L8
Record batting first: P39 W20 L16 T1 NR2
Record batting second: P42 W18 L22 NR2
Team bets
I was going to back Alex Hales to be the top England run scorer but given the quality he has around him there isn’t too much value and I’m on him for the tournament outright so I’ve no need to go in again.
I’ve also backed Adil Rashid in the top tournament bowler market but there is more of a gulf in him and the rest of the bowlers to justify a bet on him to be the top England bowler. England seamers find it very hard to take wickets in these conditions up front unless they can find some swing so Rashid is going to have to attack to aggressive fields.
We’ve seen throughout the tournament so far that spin is certainly favoured over seam and that is how I see the trend continuing so I’m happy to be on Rashid to lead England’s bowling charts in this tournament.
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