T20 World Cup 2021: SWOT Analysis of England squad
England have been playing consistent T20 cricket for the past couple of years. They are at the top of the ICC rankings for T20Is.
England won the coveted T20 World Cup in 2010 by defeating Australia in the final. They came close to winning another title in 2016 but lost out narrowly to the West Indies in the finals.
The 2019 ODI World Cup champions have been playing exceptional limited-overs cricket. They are certainly one of the favorites going into the T20 World Cup 2021 ("said tournament").
Squad 🙌 📸
#T20WorldCup | #EnglandCricket https://t.co/Q6wIh7NONy
The 15 member squad for England is as follows:
Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, buttler" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
On that note, here is a SWOT analysis of the English squad for the said tournament.
#1. Strength - Explosive batting line up
England's biggest strength lies in their batting line-up. Their openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler have been known to get their team to flying starts in power-play overs.
Jason Roy has an exceptional strike rate of 145.67 in 48 T20I innings and has six half-centuries to his credit.
Buttler, too, has been consistent at the top of the order in the T20Is and has 14 half-centuries to his credit in 74 T20I innings. He has a strike rate of 139.84 in T20Is. The said strike rate increases to 148.05 when he opens the batting and he has an exceptional average of 51.47 as an opener.
Dawid Malan is the number one ranked batter as per the ICC T20I rankings. He is the perfect number 3 for England. He can stabilize the innings in case of an early wicket and can play the role of an aggressor as and when the situation arises. He has an average of 43.19 and a strike rate of 139.33 in 30 T20I innings.
Jonny Bairstow is another player who loves to bat in the T20 format. He has a strike rate of 137.05 in 51 T20I innings and has seven half-centuries to his credit.
England's most experienced player is their skipper Eoin Morgan in the T20Is. Though he has not been in the best of touches in recent times, he has been a consistent performer for England in T20Is. He averages 28.78 and has a strike rate of 138.25 in 100 T20Is and plays the role of a finisher in the English T20I team.
Liam Livingstone has had an impressive start to his T20I career, and in seven innings he has an exceptional strike rate of 167.48.
Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and David Willey too can come in handy with the bat in the lower middle order and add depth to the English batting.
Thus the English squad comprises batsmen who are capable of playing aggressive cricket from the outset. They can challenge any bowling line-up in the said tournament.
#2. Weakness - High economy rate of fast bowlers and some fast bowlers playing T20Is after a long gap
English fast bowlers have a high economy rate in T20Is. Mark Wood concedes runs at 8.50 runs per over in T20Is. Their most experienced T20I bowler Chris Jordan too has an economy rate of 8.71 in T20Is. Tom Curran, too, struggles to control the flow of runs and has a dismal economy rate of 9.26 in T20Is.
Chris Woakes has made a comeback to the T20I team in the year 2021 after a gap of almost six years. Tymal Mills last played for England in 2017 in T20Is.
All the above mentioned bowlers are experienced bowlers. If they can get their act right in the said tournament, England could be the team to beat.
#3. Opportunities - Woakes and Mills to create an impression and for Morgan to get back to form
The English T20I team is missing the likes of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the said tournament. In their absence, Chris Woakes and Tymal Mills have been recalled to the team and will look to create an impression on the big stage.
Woakes has been a great servant of English cricket in Tests and ODIs but is yet to create an impression in the shortest format of the game. He will look to add his experience to the English T20I team.
Mills has had a stop-and-start career in international cricket due to several injuries. He is a genuine left-handed fast bowler and will bring a different dimension to the English pace attack.
Eoin Morgan had a dismal time in the IPL 2021 and will look to score runs in the said tournament. He averaged a mere 11.08 in 16 IPL 2021 innings. Morgan is an experienced campaigner and will be keen to make his presence felt in the middle-order.
#4. Threats - Group of death
England are placed in Group 1 of the said tournament. The said group comprises of teams like West Indies, South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka apart from England.
West Indies are the current world champions in the T20I format. South Africa have been playing consistent T20I cricket since 2021.
The English-Aussie rivalry has always been a riveting one in any form of cricket. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh too are formidable teams in the T20I format, especially in Asian conditions.
Thus England will have to play their A-game throughout the tournament as they cannot afford any lapses in any of their matches.