The seventh edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is set to begin, with 12 teams competing.
The competition, which was supposed to be held in India, will now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
England, the current ODI World Cup champions, is in Group 1 with Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa.
The Three Lions have arrived in the UAE, hoping to win their second World T20 title, despite the fact that several key players are expected to miss the tournament.
They will begin their quest on October 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium against the Caribbean giants.
The Eoin Morgan-led side will be looking to improve their winning percentage against the reigning T20 champions, whom they have only defeated seven times in eighteen meetings.
The English team will face one of the qualifiers on October 27, followed by a match against their long-time rivals on October 30.
The match is expected to be a high-scoring affair, as Australia has defeated England 11 times in 20 meetings, but they were on the losing side when it mattered the most—in the World T20 final in 2010.
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Recent form
England’s record in T20Is over the last two years has been impressive, with 18 victories and nine defeats, with one match called off due to inclement weather.
England’s ICC T20 World Cup squad for 2021:
Despite the absence of some key players, England has one of the strongest squads in the competition.
Ben Stokes, the competition’s star all-rounder, will not play because he is on an indefinite break, while pacer Jofra Archer is still recovering from an elbow injury.
Other notable absences include Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson and England Test captain Joe Root, while Surrey seamer Tom Curran has been named only as a traveling reserve, along with Liam Dawson and James Vince.
Another issue for the 2016 runners-up is their captain, Eoin Morgan, who has struggled to score many runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 while captaining Kolkata Knight Riders.
As a result, the team will rely heavily on the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, as well as left-hander Dawid Malan, to put up a respectable total. The bowling attack will be led by pacers Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, and David Willey, while the presence of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will provide much-needed attacking options.
Players to watch out for:
Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler, the star wicketkeeper-batter, is first on the list. The right-hander, who is also the team’s vice-captain, has been instrumental in the team’s success in white-ball cricket since the 2015 ICC 50-over World Cup debacle. Buttler has been in phenomenal form with the bat recently, averaging 53.33 in eight T20Is since January 2021, demonstrating how productive he can be for England. The 31-year-old has played 82 T20Is for England, scoring 1,871 runs at an average of 31.71 and a strike rate of 139.83, including 14 half-centuries.
Tymal Mills
The list is led by Jos Buttler, the star wicketkeeper-batter. Since the 2015 ICC 50-over World Cup debacle, the right-hander, who is also the team’s vice-captain, has been instrumental in the team’s success in white-ball cricket. Buttler has recently been in fantastic form with the bat, averaging 53.33 in eight T20Is since January 2021, demonstrating how productive he can be for England. The 31-year-old has played 82 T20Is for England, scoring 1,871 runs at a strike rate of 139.83 and an average of 31.71.
Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali is the last player on the list. The 34-year-old has proven himself time and again in white-ball cricket, both with the bat and with the ball, and England will be hoping for a similar kind of performance from their star man in the upcoming IC T20 World Cup, particularly in conditions where spin is likely to dominate. Ali has appeared in 38 Twenty20 Internationals for the national team, scoring 437 runs and taking 21 wickets.
What to expect?
Despite the absence of key players such as Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, England has enough depth to outclass any opponent on any given day. As a result, given that the reigning 50-over world champions are in a slightly easier group, it won’t be surprising if they qualify for the semi-finals.
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