The seventh edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is set to begin where 12 teams will participate in the mega-event.
The competition, which was originally scheduled to be organised in India, will now take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The current ODI World Cup winners England are placed in Group 1 alongside their rivals Australia, the West Indies and South Africa.
The Three Lions have touched down in UAE hoping to win their second World T20 title despite their key players set to miss out on the marquee tournament.
They will be starting their quest with the contest against the Caribbean giants on October 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Eoin Morgan-led unit will be looking to improve their winning percentage against the reigning T20 champions whom they’ve defeated only seven times out of the eighteen meetings.
On October 27, the English side will play against one of the qualifiers and after that, they will lock horns with their long-time rivals on October 30.
The contest is expected to be a highly-spirited one as in the 20 meetings, Australia have defeated England on 11 occasions but they were on the losing side when it mattered the most—in the final of the World T20 in 2010.
Recent form
England’s record in the T20Is over the last two years has been impressive where they went on to win 18 times and suffered nine defeats whereas one match was called off due to bad weather.
England’s Squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2021:
England are coming in the contest with one of the strongest squads, despite some of their key players missing.
Star all-rounder Ben Stokes will not feature in the competition as he is on an indefinite break whereas pacer Jofra Archer is still recovering from an elbow injury.
Other prominent omissions include Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson and England Test captain Joe Root, while Surrey seamer Tom Curran has been selected only as a travelling reserve, alongside Liam Dawson and James Vince.
Another problem for the 2016 runners-up in the form of their leader Eoin Morgan who has struggled to score a significant amount of runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 where he was captaining Kolkata Knight Riders.
Therefore, the team will be heavily relying on the likes of explosive opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, left-hander Dawid Malan to put a respectable total on the board.
The bowling unit will be relying on the pacers including Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, David Willey whereas the presence of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid is likely to provide the much-needed attacking options.
Read More: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Afghanistan — the underdogs no one wants to face
Players to watch out for:
Jos Buttler
First in the list features star wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler. The right-hander, who is also the vice-captain of the side, has been influential in the team’s success in white-ball cricket since the debacle in the 2015 ICC 50-over World Cup. Buttler has been in phenomenal form with the bat recently were in eight T20Is since January 2021, he is averaging 53.33 which shows how productive he can be for England. The 31-year-old has played 82 T20Is for England where he has managed to score 1,871 runs at an average of 31.71 along with the strike rate of 139.83, which included 14 half-centuries.
Tymal Mills
Second, in the list features fast-bowler Tymal Mills. The left-arm pacer has returned to the squad after a lengthy absence following impressive performances in the Vitality T20 Blast and The Hundred. In 2021, Mills has claimed 25 wickets in 19 T20s at an impressive average of 17.92 and an economy rate of 7.32 which was enough for him to be selected for the mega-event.
Moeen Ali
Last in the list features all-rounder Moeen Ali. The 34-year-old has proved himself time and again, both with the bat and ball, in white-ball cricket and England will be hoping for a similar kind of performance from their star man in the upcoming IC T20 World Cup as well, especially in conditions where spin is likely to dominate. Ali has played 38 T20Is for the national team where he has managed to score 437 runs and claimed 21 wickets as well.
What to expect?
Despite the absence of key players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes missing, England have enough depth in their ranks to outclass any opposition on a given day. Therefore, considering the fact that reigning 50-over world champions are placed in a slightly easier group, it won’t come as a surprise if they manage to qualify for the semis.