England have named a 15-strong squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Oman and the UAE, and while the group selected is largely as expected, there is still plenty of interest in the announcement.
Ben Stokes’ absence is expected, but still hurts
It’s entirely right that Ben Stokes takes as long as he needs and wants before returning to playing for England. There are plenty of things more important than cricket, and the health and well-being of its players are among them. But it still comes as a blow to have it all but confirmed, both for England and to fans of the sport wanting to watch one of its most unmissable players take the field.
While England can cover effectively for Stokes the cricketer – the make-up of the squad suggests Liam Livingstone slotting in as a like-for-like – replacing Stokes the character is an impossible task; there are few players a team would rather have in their camp to galvanise the troops in the crunch moment of a knockout match. A world tournament without the best cricketer in the world featuring won’t feel quite the same.
Tymal Mills comes in from the cold
He might have been name-checked ahead of The Hundred as a player who could make a bolt for England’s T20 World Cup squad by captain Eoin Morgan, but Tymal Mills’ rapid reascension to the ranks is still remarkable. His last game for England came in February 2017, and he has played just three times for his country.
Long touted by those who follow the format closely as one the best death bowlers globally, The Hundred offered Mills the perfect chance to showcase his unique set of high-pace and slower-ball skills on the big stage, against the best in the world, and he delivered emphatically, taking eight wickets, conceding just over a run a ball, and finishing with figures of 1-13 in the final as Southern Brave won the men’s competition. With Jofra Archer out injured, Mills will likely slot into England’s first-choice XI, tasked with bowling at the most important and toughest stage of the innings. It’s some story.
White-ball experience wins out
While much of England’s squad is as expected, there was debate over who would take the slots eventually filled by David Willey and Chris Woakes. The two arguably fulfill a similar niche, as experienced new-ball bowlers who add value with the bat, and while Willey has more T20 experience, Woakes brings with him the knowledge that comes with winning a World Cup final. Both are worthy cricketers, and neither is likely to let England down, but it’s hard not to wonder if this is where a bolter or a match-up option could have been picked, with just one of the two selected.
England put faith in seam over spin
As it is, England will go into the T20 World Cup with just one frontline spinner – Adil Rashid – in the squad, with Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali part-time options, and Liam Dawson available as back-up. Given India selected five spinners in their squad, it suggests the two teams expect the surfaces to play markedly differently. Given how much cricket will be played in the UAE ahead of the tournament, with half the IPL still to take place there, and the volatile surfaces an ICC competition can produce – Mitchell Santner, Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi took nine wickets between them to skittle India for 79 in 2016, while the tournament prior saw Rangana Herath take 5-3 to bowl the Black Caps out for 60 – it’s hard not to wonder if England could have hedged their bets, just in case they are tasked with a turner. Matt Parkinson, one of the stars of the summer, has built a well-earned reputation as one of the best T20 spinners in the country, and had started to show his effectiveness for England too. His omission is perhaps the most surprising of all.
Tom Curran’s stock finally falls
For some England fans, the repeated selection of Tom Curran has been a source of frustration. He has conceded more than 9.50 runs per over since the start of 2020 – in that time, only South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi has bowled more overs at a worse economy rate. There are plenty of reasons to like Curran as a cricketer, not least his sense of a moment and stomach of a big occasion, and England gave him every chance to show he could produce with the regularity required for the top level. But he has been sidelined and will come in only in the case of illness or injury.
Even without the big two, this is still a formidable squad
The most striking thing is how settled and how scary England’s first-choice team is. While the absence of Stokes and Archer weakens them, the top six contains several of the most fierce ball-strikers in the world, while they can count on one of the world’s best white-ball spinners, and two of its fastest bowlers too, all helmed by one of the best limited-overs captains there has been. England are considered as one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup, and looking at the 15 selected, you can see why.
