England in a hurry to gain momentum
England's World Twenty20 campaign begins today. The preliminaries are short and sharp, with two matches against South Africa.
|||England's World Twenty20 campaign begins today. The preliminaries are short and sharp, with two matches against South Africa followed by two practice matches in India before the tournament next month.
It hardly seems sufficient, but to have tried to squeeze more in after the arduous winter which has befallen those players who have been with the squad throughout would have been a greater folly.
It allows little room for experiment at this stage and Eoin Morgan, the captain, confirmed yesterday that they would be playing their strongest team in Cape Town today and in Johannesburg on Sunday.
“Nobody will be rested over the next two games,” he said. “They are games we really want to win. Twenty20 is very funny in that regard - when momentum is with you, it can be very kind, but also if you're struggling to gain it, it can be brutal. If you're trying to turn around momentum, and gain wins, it's a terrible game.”
Under Morgan's deceptively carefree captaincy, England have rebranded themselves as a limited-overs side. In Twenty20, especially, they appear to have caught up with the demands of the game in 2016, batting deep and with a perpetual vibrancy.
There is a feeling that they will go to India for the World Twenty20 with realistic aspirations. Unimpeded by previous failure, they have the certainty and fearlessness of youth on their side. There is a fetching mix of the conventional - though of a more exciting, modern type - and the experimental without which no present team can function.
If Alex Hales and Jason Roy are exponents of crash, bang, wallop at the top of the order, the importance to the team of Joe Root, in T20 as in all other forms, cannot be overstated. Morgan himself must score heavily for England to feature prominently in India and Jos Buttler's ability to turn games on their head will be crucial. That takes no account of Ben Stokes and the late order. There is firepower all right.
The batting is more formidable than the bowling and England are putting considerable faith in their two left-arm swing bowlers, Reece Topley and David Willey, both of whom are expected to play in these two matches. Topley has made huge progress recently but it is an attack based on guile. On balance, some extra pace would be welcome and Steve Finn's return cannot come soon enough. Adil Rashid, a big hit in Australia's Big Bash, and Moeen Ali could offer a genuine threat in India.
“I think this attack can win games for us,” said Morgan. “With the spin department covered, and the two left-armers coming in and being a threat up front, it adds a huge dynamic to our game. A big strength is the fact we do bat deep. But with these strings to our bow [with the ball], it makes us a bigger threat.”
South Africa are in England's pool in the World T20, and though it will be slightly different in Bombay next month from Cape Town and Johannesburg in the next three days, this is a chance for some serious sparring. After almost three months, many of these players (a total of 11 from both sides have already played in the Tests and the ODIs) know each other inside out.
AB de Villiers will stay at the top of the order for South Africa, probably in partnership with Quinton de Kock. It seems that the home side may have confidence enough to omit Hashim Amla, which, if so, may prove misplaced.
Morgan was probably right about T20 momentum. If England can force a win - or even two - here, India will seem less daunting.
Probable Cape Town teams:
South Africa
F du Plessis (capt), Q de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, D Miller, JP Duminy, F Behardien, D Wiese, C Morris, K Rabada, K Abbott, I Tahir.
England
EJG Morgan (capt), AD Hales, JJ Roy, JE Root, BA Stokes, JC Buttler (wkt), MM Ali, AU Rashid, CJ Jordan, DJ Willey, RJW Topley.
Umpires
JD Cloete (SA) & S George (SA). – The Independent