England named a provisional 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup, starting on June 1. The squad has stirred discussions with the return of Jofra Archer. Some experts expressed their concern about the risk of including Jofra Archer as he has not featured for England since last March and has not played competitive cricket for a year due to a right elbow injury.
On April 30th, England named their 15-man provisional squad for the T20 World Cup, aiming to defend their title. The squad features a blend of experience with veterans like Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, alongside the exciting return of Jofra Archer from injury. Young guns like Will Jacks and Harry Brook add power hitting to the lower order, giving England a well-rounded team for the tournament.
Jofra Archer, a name synonymous with raw pace and ferocious swing bowling, has been a key figure for England in recent years. Despite Jofra Archer’s immense talent, injuries have plagued his career, particularly in the shorter format. Notably, Jofra Archer’s absence from the 2022 T20 World Cup victory was a major blow to England’s bowling attack.
Experts On The Announcement of the return of Jofra Archer
Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain analysed the squad announcement in the recent Sky Sports Cricket podcast. They delved into various talking points and speculated on the team’s potential lineup for the upcoming tournament.
“It’s a fairly predictable squad, there’s a strong nucleus of experienced players with a bit of fresh blood in the likes of Jacks and Hartley. There’s no real bolter, that nobody has thought about, that suddenly have been picked by the selectors. If we were going to pick 15 names, we would pretty much come up with that kind of 15.” Atherton said.
Atherton also added on the selection of Jofra Archer, “He will definitely improve England’s side if he’s available, because he’s a multi-phase bowler. He can bowl quick with the new ball, he can come on and bowl thunderbolts in the middle of innings for an over or two if you need it, then clearly has his ability at the death to bowl yorkers.”
Abou the same topic on Jofra Archer Hussain said, “You’d say that Jofra is the headline act, isn’t he? He did an interview recently where he said not sure he could go through another (long injury). We wish Jofra well because he is absolutely box office.”
The Balance Of England’s Squad
England opted to include an additional batter in Duckett instead of selecting an extra all-rounder. This decision saw Chris Woakes, who faced challenges during the disappointing 50-over World Cup defence last autumn, being left out of the squad.
On the same topic, Atherton commented in the podcast, “Somebody like Max Holden can’t be far away and I think he’s somebody whose T20 game has come on leaps and bounds for Middlesex. Tom Kohler-Cadmore was probably in the conversation and Jordan Cox maybe, who’s just moved to Essex.”
“Duckett’s been around the team for a year or two, made that transition to international cricket pretty well and if he’s not in the first choice top six, then he’s good spare batter to have. He’s an excellent player of spin and an excellent sweeper.”
Atherton’s companion Hussain in the podcast added, “I was asked to do my side and I had both Woakes and Jordan in because I wouldn’t have taken the extra batter, because there’s so many batting options in there. Jordan is brilliant in all phases, is great in the field, and scores very useful runs down the order.”
The Pressure on England Ahead Of The T20 WC
England T20 head coach and captain, Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler would surely be under scrutiny and tons of pressure at the upcoming World Cup, specially after a disastrous 50-over tournament. Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain seem to agree with the pressure Team England would be facing.
In the podcast with Sky Sports Cricket, Nasser Hussain said, “T20 is a lottery anyway, but to win this thing with some of the sides out there, is going to be the hardest. You look at the host nation in the West Indies, you look at South Africa and their batting line-up.”
“India are coming into this off the back of the IPL and some of the players coming into form, then Australia are looking for the treble of the 50-over, 20-over and the Test Championship, so they’re hoping for the full whack. There are a lot of good teams.”
Former England Captain Michael Atherton stated, “I’m not sure you can judge England on whether they win this tournament because T20 is more of a lottery and is very difficult to call the winners. What they have to be judged on in this tournament, Mott and Buttler, is just getting most of the big decisions right.
“I don’t think you can be guaranteed to win it, even if you do, but you want to see evidence that the ship is run well. I think what was evident from India in the 50-over World Cup is that too many things went well that were in their control, so they’ve got to have a better tournament than that.”
Before the World Cup, England’s four-match T20 series with Pakistan begins at Headingley on May 22, with further fixtures at Edgbaston (May 25), Cardiff (May 28) and The Oval (May 30). This series would be a practice and test for the team to prove themselves before they begin their title defence against Scotland in Barbados on June 4, ahead of playing Australia at the same venue on June 8. They then face Oman in Antigua on June 13 and Namibia in the same place two days later, with the top two from the group then progressing to the Super 8s.