The T20 World Cup with the England national team begins.
This is the message from captain Harry Brook, who begins Sunday’s Super Eights match against Sri Lanka (live on Sky Sports from 9.30am) after a thrilling opening game in which they lost to West Indies and were pushed hard by three associate nations.
England needed Sam Curran’s final straw to beat Nepal by four points in their opening game, but were in danger of suffering a shock defeat to debutants Italy in their final group game, leaving them on the brink of a comeback in a match that looked likely to see them eliminated.
There was some bad weather in between, which saw them succumb to West Indies and beat Scotland, but their full focus is now on reaching the knockout win, with a match against Sri Lanka in Palekele followed by Pakistan at the same venue on Tuesday and New Zealand in Colombo next Friday.
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Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali says the team have been a bit “tentative” so far ahead of Sunday’s game against Sri Lanka
Former all-rounder Moeen Ali assessed England’s performance so far, telling Sky Sports:
“When you get a sniff of those teams, that’s when they become dangerous.As a player, that’s when you feel a little bit of pressure.
“But England will be a little bit more relieved now that they’ve gotten through it. They’ll be a lot better now and a lot more at ease.”
Looking to build on T20 success with England vs Sri Lanka
England defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in the pre-T20 World Cup series at Palekele and are currently on an 11-game winning streak against their weekend opponents in this format. The last time Sri Lanka beat England in a T20 international was in 2014 at Kier Oval.
But after nearly getting burned in the opening round, Brooke isn’t taking anything for granted. Especially the Sri Lankan team, who beat Australia by eight wickets last Monday, with Pathum Nissanka smashing a 52-ball century featuring 10 fours and five sixes.
Nissanka scored 62 off 41 balls in the loss against Zimbabwe.
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In the T20 World Cup, Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant 100 off just 52 balls helped Sri Lanka defeat Australia by eight wickets.
The England captain said: “Obviously it was a tough start. We probably underestimated some of the teams but they put up a really good fight. Thankfully we got through and I think it’s new competition now. It’s a new start.”
“We have learned that no team can be taken for granted. Sri Lanka are a strong team with a lot of confidence after some very good wins.”
“Some of their batsmen are batting very well and Nissanka is a bit out of form so it would be ideal if we can get him out early, but if we play our best cricket there is no reason why we can’t beat them.
Winning close games shows the faith and unity we have. We found ourselves in a sticky situation, but we were able to get out of the situation with some exceptional performances from our lower-ranked players.
Harry Brook talks about England’s T20 World Cup campaign so far
“Playing here and experiencing this surface and ground gives us a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can use that experience.”
“I think we were too cautious at times, especially with the hitting depth that we have, you can look at putting pressure on teams.
“The important thing is to have confidence in the guys behind us. In certain situations we can be a little more courageous.”
Bethel is unlikely to bowl for England, but could Buttler shine?
After England’s 24-point win over Italy, Sky Sports’ Nick Knight said a return to Sri Lanka – with Brooke’s side playing the entire first round in India – including two games in Kolkata and two in Mumbai – would benefit the two-time T20 World Cup winners.
There are so many variations of Jofra, but you don’t have to use them all the time. Against Nepal, I felt like he was bowling very slow balls. As a batsman, you want that more than him bowling fast at you. I think he has too many variations in his bowling, but he has the drive to take wickets when England really need them.
Moeen Ali’s Jofra Archer
“This is a godsend because I don’t think their attack suits India’s situation. The spinners will now be able to get more involved in the attack, get a bit of grip and stretch the bowling attack, which relies heavily on Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer,” Knight said.
“We know we will have to go back to India for the semi-finals and finals once they arrive in India, but for now it will give us confidence.”
England won the series finale against Sri Lanka by a low score earlier this month, with all-rounder Jacob Bethel making it 4-11 with left-arm spin, but he has yet to bowl in the World Cup due to a cut on his finger and it looks unlikely he will have his arm back on Sunday.
England’s Jacob Bethel is unlikely to bowl against Sri Lanka after cutting his finger
On the batting side, England will be hoping that Jos Buttler can rediscover his form in the opener, having scored scores of 26, 21, 3 and 3 in previous World Cups. He has not scored an international 50 since September.
Moye added: “Jos may feel he is letting the team down.
“I told him the last few days, ‘When you’re at your best, you play according to the situation.’ I think he needs to get back to that a little bit more and take the worry off his shoulders.”
Butler has vowed not to hold back and Brook, who believes Moen should be ranked higher than No. 5, also wants his team to be aggressive. As the captain said, England’s tournament starts now, unless the rain expected on Sunday is deadly.
England T20 World Cup Super 8s fixtures
Always UK and Ireland. All matches will be streamed live on Sky Sports Cricket
vs Sri Lanka (Palekele) – Sunday 22nd February (9.30am) vs Pakistan (Palekele) – Tuesday 24th February (1.30pm) vs New Zealand (Colombo) – Friday 27th February (1.30pm)
Watch every match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket, including the final on Sunday 8th March. Get Sky Sports and stream now without a contract.
