"Looking from the outside, it seems to me the players are too powerful" - Michael Vaughan addresses England's woes at the 2024 T20 World Cup
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has outlined player power and lack of leaders in the side as some of the issues affecting the team's 2024 T20 World Cup campaign so far. The Jos Buttler-led side were poor in the abandoned clash against Scotland and followed it up with a tame defeat to Australia to make their qualification for the Super Eight stage, a bit tricky.
The defending champions recently came off a disastrous 2023 ODI World Cup campaign in India, leaving both Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott on the brink. Another disappointing campaign would force the ECB to make some radical calls.
Vaughan opined that the decline in England's white-ball cricket is hardly surprising and expressed his disappointment over repeated mistakes in terms of team selection and tactics.
"We should not be surprised that England are in this mess. It has been far too cosy for too long in the white-ball set up. The team has been in decline for a while and is making the same mistakes all over again in selection and tactics. Looking from the outside, it seems to me the players are too powerful. It is all lovely and nice in the set up but I have never seen lovely and nice win World Cups," Vaughan wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
He cited the 2019 ODI World Cup-winning side led by Eoin Morgan as an example to be followed.
"In 2019 England won the World Cup playing fearless cricket but Eoin Morgan ran that team with an iron fist. Players knew where they stood and were wary of crossing him," Vaughan added.
England face a threat from Scotland, who are leading the group with five points after three matches. Should the latter cause an upset by defeating Australia, it would spell major trouble for the defending champions.
"This team is clearly coming to the end" - Michael Vaughan
The 2023 ODI World Cup campaign gave out several warning signs, and with some of the members in the current T20 unit ageing as well, a transition could be imminent.
Vaughan lambasted the team for not building on the 2019 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup triumphs enough, resulting in a peak that hardly lasted.
"Three years ago England were the best white-ball team in the world and everyone else was trying to copy them. But you can’t sit still in sport and England did that. Other teams copied them but brought more skill and discipline to their cricket. England have to be very careful. This team is clearly coming to the end and they will go through transition after this World Cup," Vaughan wrote in the same piece.
"We never sustain success for long in English cricket. We have a couple of good years, win the odd trophy or big series and think we have made it only for everyone else to catch up and overtake. They won the World Cup in 2019 and we thought they would dominate for years but they were battered in India four years later. They won the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup but two years later face being knocked out by Scotland," Vaughan added.
To conclude, Vaughan stated that England should learn from their rivals, Australia, as to how to attain consistency when it comes to success where it matters.
"For once it would be nice to learn from Australia. I don’t like praising them, but they just turn it on at World Cups and bad series or tournaments are just blips between successes. It is the other way around for England," he wrote.
England are next scheduled to face Oman on Thursday, June 13 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.