It wasn’t pretty, but England got where they needed to be. The Super Eights.
T20 cricket exists to make you look stupid. Intrinsically volatile, it is the perfect format for a global tournament where smaller nations discard their inhibitions in pursuit of a single famous victory, while established ones cower in the face of a single disastrous defeat.
Such a balance has seen England, who entered the tournament with 10 victories from their last 11 matches and a valid claim to being the “best of the rest” behind India, stumble their way to wins over Nepal, Scotland and Italy, while losing at the hands of the West Indies.
“We haven’t quite made it as easy as we would have liked so far,” said England captain Harry Brook with a smile after their victory over Scotland.
But contrary to the evidence of the past week and a half, England remain well placed for a push to the final. Their Super Eights group contains Sri Lanka, who they have just beaten 3-0 in the lead-up to this competition, Pakistan, who have been equally unconvincing in their progress to this stage, and New Zealand, who England defeated 1-0 in a rain-affected series before Christmas.
Such is the current landscape of the T20 world that you have India, daylight, and then the rest of the world. If England can top their group and avoid a semi-final with India, they are two shootouts from World Cup glory.
Furthermore, as bizarre as it may sound, the good news for England is that they have been winning while their best players have been out of form. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler have good reason to claim they are the best T20 opening partnership in the world and yet neither has passed 30 so far in the tournament. While Adil Rashid, the linchpin of the bowling attack, has been uncharacteristically expensive. The quality of all three is simply too high for that to remain the case.
As such, it has been England’s off-Broadway players that have risen to the fore. In particular, Jamie Overton and Sam Curran, both of whom had been identified as the weak links in the bowling attack, have been excellent, and statistically England’s best performers; while Tom Banton and Will Jacks have risen to the occasion with the bat when England have been in need. Jacks, in particular, has made two vital contributions from No7. Do England want Jacks to be relied on so heavily? No. But are England one of very few teams in the competition to have a player of such quality so far down the order? Yes.
Of course, it may all fall in a heap. But for now, England remain well placed. Their opening Super Eight fixture takes place on Sunday against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, before they play Pakistan on Tuesday (1.30pm) and New Zealand on Friday (1.30pm).
Nepal is a major part of cricket’s future. They must be supported accordingly.
Nepal is a major part of cricket’s future. They must be supported accordingly.
But the story of the competition has not been England. Far from it.
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Italy and Nepal have been the two standout tales. In their first World Cup, Italy recorded a famous victory over Nepal which was masterminded by the legspinner Crishan Kalugamage, who moved to Italy as a teenager and now works as a pizza chef when he isn’t bowling googlies, and brothers Anthony and Justin Mosca. The pair qualify through their grandparents and play club cricket in Australia, but were at the crease together at the iconic Wankhede Stadium when the winning runs were struck. Anthony’s roar can still be heard now.
Cricket in Italy is still in its nascent stages. To oversimplify, their progression to this stage is a Football Manager file that has got out of hand. Former county cricketer Gareth Berg was the initial mastermind, representing Italy for years before briefly taking over as head coach and going on a global hunt for anyone with a grandma from Rome. Only five of the 15 squad members live in Italy, Kalugamage being one of them, but they have built the foundations from which the game can progress. Cricket is a game of migration, and the Italian team are made up of players whose grandparents moved away from Italy, or parents who moved to Italy. No one will begrudge them any future success.
By contrast, the grassroots game in Nepal is flourishing. The most popular sport in the country by a distance, the players are national celebrities and they are supported in vast numbers wherever they go. Following their victory against Scotland in Mumbai, Scottish bowler Brad Currie described it as the “loudest” game he had ever played in.
“It was genuinely like playing in a nightclub,” Currie said. “It’s going to feel like we’re playing in a library when we get back to Scotland.”
Nepal’s overall tournament was a disappointment. While they were one hit away from beating England, they fell to heavy defeats against Italy and the West Indies before their consolation win against Scotland. A nation of 30 million people, it is a fact that Nepal is a major part of cricket’s future. They must be supported accordingly.
As well as the joy, it is also true that much of this tournament has also been politically painful: the absence of Bangladesh, the threatened boycott of the India fixture by Pakistan, and the pre-seeded Super Eight groups that are largely the result of Pakistan not being able to play in India. So much of cricket goes wrong so often. But for two weeks it has been bliss. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Photography by Matt Roberts/ICC via Getty Images