England would have been my favourites to win it all, but this was before another elbow injury to Jofra Archer.
Archer is second only to maybe Jasprit Bumrah in the white ball pace-bowling power-rankings. Bowling regularly at speeds of over 140kph, Archer’s movement and accuracy combined with a subtle action are lethal with the new and older ball.
It seems that Tymal Mills has been called up for the tournament in place of Archer, when I personally believe that he should have been a shoo-in already. Mills is one of the finest death-bowlers in the world, potentially the best. Mills’ method at the end of the innings differs from the norm in that, he rarely bowls a yorker. What he has developed however, is the ability to deliver a mix of deliveries ranging from 150kph, right down to 110kph or less, with no discernible change in action. This leads batters to have to make their mind up before the ball is bowled, as to whether the ball will arrive at them before, or after they expect.
Even without Archer, England’s fast-bowling stocks are not exactly lacking. Mark Wood is probably the fasted bowler England have ever fielded across formats, and this year has proven the value of simply bowling very fast, and very accurately. Funnily enough, batters have yet to express great pleasure at such an attack. Chris Jordan will almost certainly accompany Wood in the attack, capable of also delivering the ball consistently quick, Jordan’s reliable death-bowling has slipped in recent years. When Jordan nails his yorker, it is unhittable, when he does not, the ball travels. Jordan offers plenty more than bowling to the squad as well, he has been nicknamed ‘Chris Jordan Henderson’ because of his all-round likeability and influence on the younger members of the squad. He is also perhaps the best catcher in world cricket.
Before the recent injury of Sam Curran, England had picked 3 all-rounders in what could have been a shoot out for number seven. This is less likely now that Curran is unavailable to balance the side and his brother has been called up. This seems like a missed opportunity to include one of Matt Parkinson or Liam Dawson on suitable pitches. Dawson would have balanced the side better and his bowling is tight, but Parkinson is the name on all England fans’ lips as of late.
Either way, without Curran the task of balancing the side becomes a little trickier. This leaves David Willey or Chris Woakes as bowling heavy all-rounders. Out of the two, Willey is a better T20 player than Woakes and has two T20 centuries with the bat, therefore can be an asset coming in late on in an innings. If there is a hint of swing early on, Willey will find it but his skills are not as much use throughout the innings.
This is why it would have been preferable to call on Dawson who is both an accomplished middle-order player and economical spinner.
If England would rather prioritise batting, they could go with Liam Livingstone or Moeen Ali at number seven, potentially wasting their talents too far down the order. Such a move would also leave their bowling very light as at least one of them would have to shoulder more overs.
The spin-bowling department is settled and world class, insomuch as Adil Rashid IS the spin-bowling department. We know what Rashid brings to this side, control and wickets. He *could* offer a powerplay option if England were desperate, however the middle overs are where he works his magic. Rashid has evolved his craft to go from being a wicket-taking threat who gave away runs, to a consistent wicket taking threat, who is economical as well. He is one of the best English spinners of all-time and his prime should be enjoyed, and made the most of. To partner Rashid, are the part time overs of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone, in the only department where England are a tad light.
The batting is as settled as many English fans are used to seeing an English line-up in the modern era. Jason Roy is actually probably the perfect opener for this English set up, he can take on any bowler from the beginning and set the tone, he does not score many big fifties or seventies but he does not need to. His partner Jos Buttler, is one of the main reasons for England’s continued excellence in white-ball cricket, he has the ability to anchor an innings whilst striking at over 150 but can also take down the best bowlers in the world from ball one.
Before we go into the number three position, for what it’s worth I would probably pick this eleven:
- Jason Roy
- Jos Buttler
- Moeen Ali
- Jonny Bairstow
- Liam Livingstone
- Eoin Morgan
- David Willey
- Chris Jordan
- Adil Rashid
- Mark Wood
- Tymal Mills
Dawid Malan is the man in possession at number three currently, but there is a hugely convincing argument that he should not be, especially in this World Cup.
Malan has an exceptional record in internationals despite his struggles this year. His quality is not, and has never been, in doubt, but struggles against spin, and slow starts will count against him in the UAE.
If this tournament were still taking place in Australia, as originally planned, Malan and Liam Livingstone would have been key players (Livingstone may still be). On bouncy, fast, true pitches down under, Malan can use the pace of the ball to manufacture boundaries early with his more classical technique and build to a position of strength before unleashing, hitting through the ball late in the innings. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Malan averages 56 while striking at over 150, illustrating a fondness for those conditions. Livingstone also happens to have the best strike rate against ‘high pace’ in world cricket according to CricViz.
This of course drops when facing spin but it is still impressive. Livingstone has however struggled during the restart of the IPL, with a high score of 25, being dropped by Rajasthan.
This may come into England’s planning for the World Cup, in which case Sam Billings, who is fantastic against spin, would come in. I still believe however that an England top 5 containing Livingstone would strike more fear into opposition bowlers, than one without him.
As far as Malan is concerned, I would remove him from the number three position for Moeen Ali. Moeen destroys spin to a greater degree than anyone in the world, and spin is exactly what teams (besides England, bizarrely) will be dishing out mostly in late October. Moeen also carries the obvious bonus of bowling off-spin, so England can make up their 6th bowler overs with a combination of him and Livingstone.
Bairstow is settled at number four, and has the perfect combination of brutal power, and speed between the wickets, if he is feeling settled in a role he does well, then please learn a lesson from the Test side, and keep it this way.
Skipper Eoin Morgan is in appalling form in recent months, but he is such an important influence on the side that he makes it in no matter his form. Since he is making few runs, at an incredibly quick rate, why not stick him in at 6, where he sometimes might not bat, and other times 18 off 8 is enough?
The problem that people often find with England’s batting line-up, is the absence of a true finisher. This is why the debate has raged on (to dramatize it) over whether Jos Buttler should take on a role in the middle order, as he is probably the best equipped. I personally am of the opinion that, with the way England play, they almost do not need a finisher, going at the ball from the first delivery, will see England almost slow down towards the end of their innings at times. And this is fine.
A finisher is mostly used in a side where the top order are more circumspect platform builders who need the likes of Russell, Buttler, Pandya or even Sherfane Rutherford, to fulfil a very difficult, niche and rather hopeless role late on. Since England’s top order are the opposite of this, they do not need late order impetus as much as other sides. England are best off utilising Buttler in a manner in which he can face as many deliveries as possible to affect a match with a 40 ball 80 rather than risking it for a 15 ball 45 or an 8 ball 27 later on.
In short, England are a fantastic white ball side, who are still probably second favourites to win their second T20 men’s World Cup, even without Jofra Archer. Archer’s presence would take them to another level, but with the power and guile of the batting, the pace in their attack, and Adil Rashid at the peak of his powers in the shortest game, they have a real chance.
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Michael Vince on Sport 