"England were likely to win the World Cup if Tymal Mills hadn’t been injured" - Kevin Pietersen
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen opined that England would have won the 2021 T20 World Cup if not for Tymal Mills' injury before the semi-final. According to Pietersen, Mills was the X-factor for the English side in the tournament.
The left-arm pacer suffered a quadriceps injury during England's clash with Sri Lanka in the Super 12 stage. Express pacer Mark Wood replaced Mills in the side for the next few games but he could not make the same impact as Tymal Mills in the death overs.
Kevin Pietersen felt this was a major area of concern for the England team during their losses to South Africa and New Zealand in the tournament. In his blog for Betway, Pietersen tried to discern the reason behind England's exit from the World Cup and wrote:
"I’m pretty confident I’d be previewing a final which England were likely to win if Tymal Mills hadn’t been injured for their semi-final against New Zealand. Mills was the only irreplaceable player in England’s squad. Jason Roy went down but Jonny Bairstow could shuffle up the order. They had plenty of spare batsmen, right-arm and left-arm seamers, and even Liam Livingstone’s spin has been a revelation."
He continued:
"But Mills was an unknown quantity to several opposition in this competition and has skills nobody else does. He bowls incredibly fast, he has great changes of pace. He was a fabulous selection. England were poor at the death on Wednesday, so it’s fair to say that Mills’ injury has cost them the World Cup."
Unity, humility, and lack of distractions around the New Zealand team set them apart: Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen was also impressed by the consistent performances of the New Zealand cricket team over the past decade. The Kiwis side have reached the finals of both the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and then won the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) by defeating India in the final earlier this year in June.
Pietersen tried to analyze what factors are working for the New Zealand team to put on such consistent performances and wrote:
"I don’t think ego is something that is connected to New Zealand sport. They just play for each other. Players like Jimmy Neesham and Tim Southee, who do quite well on the franchise circuit but aren’t necessarily stars, have come into their own in this tournament. These guys step it up because they feel at home in that side.
He continued:
"I’m thinking aloud, and I’m fascinated to learn more about the secrets to their success, but it does seem that the unity, humility and lack of distractions around the New Zealand team set them apart."
Kane Williamson's side will be looking to win the final against Australia on Sunday and bag their second ICC trophy in the same calendar year.