With 12 sides now heading home, we have learnt that pitches have neutered the sluggers and left-armers are worth their weight in gold
Now that the initial group stage has all but concluded and the teams going through to the Super Eights have been confirmed, it is an opportune moment to assess what we have learned about this T20 World Cup and how the teams have adapted to climate and conditions from a dodgy pitch in New York to St Vincent’s raging bunsen.
England director of cricket Rob Key used that word when looking ahead to this tournament. It has not happened because of the slow surfaces in the Caribbean wet season and good bowling conditions in the United States. The strike rate for this World Cup is just over a run a ball, 103.29, which is the lowest of the nine T20 World Cups so far and a world away from the IPL which had a six-rich strike rate this year of 150.58 thanks to the impact sub, small boundaries and batting paradises.
St Lucia is the best pitch in the Caribbean. The ball flies through for the pacemen but comes onto the bat too and with small boundaries and whippy wind, England’s games against West Indies and South Africa will be high scoring. West Indies smoked the highest score of the World Cup so far, 218 last night with Nicholas Pooran the biggest innings so far of 98.
Scotland smacked Australia for 180, their highest T20 World Cup score and Sri Lanka posted 201 against Netherlands. “When we look at the schedule all the batters are excited to come to St Lucia, a place where batters like to bat,” said Rovman Powell, the West Indies captain. Over the next few days Key might be able to say ‘I told you so’.
It is remarkable how well he has slotted back into international cricket. He has been so good it is as if Archer has been playing regularly for the last two years rather than out injured and getting fed up with constant rehab exercises.
He is England’s matchwinner and could take them all the way. It is not just the 90mph pace but the variations which allow Buttler to bowl him in any phase of the innings. He follows up 79mph back of the hand slower balls with a 92mph bouncer in between the odd knuckleball and yorker. He is smiling, enjoying being back with England and this tournament has been the perfect reintroduction allowing him to transition back to international cricket in familiar surroundings.
It is now about resisting the temptation of rushing him back too soon for Test cricket.
Two years ago Sam Curran was the player of the tournament and was awarded an MBE on the back of it, which he will collect after this tournament hoping that by then he has gained his regular place back. With Liam Livingstone struggling with a side injury, Curran has a chance of keeping his place after a late call-up for the Namibia match because it was shortened by rain and Buttler wanted another bowling option. He gives England another left-hander to bat anywhere in the top seven and he provides back up if Wood’s first couple of overs are expensive. The more bowling options the better.
“It’s been hard to be honest, very difficult,” said Curran about being dropped. “I feel like England is a team I’ve done really well for but it shows the strength of our squad at the moment.”
Again in T20 it has been proved how valuable a left-arm pace is in the powerplay. England are a different side now Reece Topley is taking the new ball with his awkward angle and bounce. It makes you shake your head that England did not pick him from the start, another example of flawed decision making by this management group but at least they have not been too stubborn to accept they were wrong. He is going at just over three an over, although West Indies and South Africa will be tougher than Oman and Namibia, and has tightened up the powerplay that was so expensive for England against Australia and Scotland.
Other lefties dominating are the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, who has taken seven wickets in the powerplay, the most of any bowler, and is eagerly learning from Afghanistan’s bowling coach, Dwayne Bravo, one of T20 cricket’s best bowlers. Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman has again been brilliant at the death, while all the top sides – India (Arshdeep Singh), Australia (Mitchell Starc) and South Africa (Marco Jansen) – have a left armer. Why didn’t Topley play from the start? Arrgh!
This has not been a World Cup of innovatory tactics, batsmen unfurling funky new shots or bowlers creating magic with the latest mystery delivery. If you just bowl at pace you travel. It has been about variations, reading situations, gauging surfaces quicker than your opponent and staying calm under pressure. There is such a difference between a World Cup and franchise cricket that makes data a bit less relevant. It is about guts. holding your nerve and experience which tests morale. Just look at how Pakistan flapped in the Super Over against the United States; it tells you a lot about a team’s togetherness.
Pre-tournament it looked as though five would be vying for the semi-final – England, India, South Africa, West Indies and Australia – and so it has proved with all through to the Super Eights. The three middling teams – New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – are all out while Afghanistan and Bangladesh were the stalking horses and are still here. In a 20 team, five in four groups format there was always a bit of jeopardy making it so much more interesting than the 50 over World Cup group phase of ten team round robin that droned on forever.
The United States made it through to the Super Eights giving the whole tournament a lift by beating a woeful Pakistan in the only upset of the World Cup and a washout against Ireland. Uganda were the only duffers bowled out for 39, 40, 58 and 77. Papua New Guinea gave West indies a fright, Oman competed for two thirds against Australia and Nepal, where cricket is enormously popular, should have beaten South Africa and Bangladesh but went out winless. England failed to take a Scottish wicket in 10 overs and Australia had to up their game to beat them in St Lucia.
Namibia will benefit from being co-hosts of the next 50-over World Cup and the LA Olympics is a further boost for the US. It does feel like a global tournament with 20 teams but the associates lack depth to compete with the big sides over an entire match and until there is more funding, and more exposure, we will only get to enjoy the odd shock. They need more games but that would be at the expense of franchise cricket. The big countries are not going to do that. Money rules.
It is not often you see Australians taking a backward step but they hit reverse pretty hard when they saw the negative reaction back home to Josh Hazlewood’s comment that it would be in their interests to perhaps cook up a run rate result with Scotland that would knock England out. Pat Cummins was rolled out to say he had had a word with Hazlewood and cited the spirit of cricket. Hazlewood’s bowling mate Mitchell Starc was punchier, accusing the media taking things out of context. Judge for yourself and remember how many press conferences and media interviews Hazlewood has done down the years as well as all that media training to spot a trap.
Reporter (from the Sydney Daily Telegraph): Is it in Australia’s interest to, if there’s anything that can be done about it in the Scotland game, to make it as difficult as possible for England to progress?
Hazlewood: Yeah, I think so. In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again and as you said they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day and we’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket so if we can get them out of the tournament that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else.”
All knockabout, fun stuff but give us a break from the taken-out-of-context nonsense.
There is real excitement in the Caribbean about this competition. Banners are up on each island (far more than in India last year), all the grounds have been spruced up and look great, which gives a good legacy, and locals eager to talk about the cricket. There are far fewer England fans because this is June and cricket tours are an escape from the winter. But while they prop up Test cricket in many parts of the world, they do take over and venues lose their unique feel. St Lucia this week will be rocking for the England-West Indies game on Wednesday. England will finally feel part of the World Cup party.
