Pakistan and New Zealand never made it past the first round. Australia were bundled out in the Super Eights. And if India beat South Africa on Saturday – “hoist Bharat’s flag” in Barbados as Jay Shah, their overlord, promised – England could claim a semi-final finish inflicted by a superb, unstoppable team to be pretty solid in comparison.
Jos Buttler felt getting that far in the T20 World Cup was “an achievement” but the struggle en route, and the gulf laid bare by the 68-run pasting in Providence, weakened the argument a touch. Ruthless though they were against the associates, England’s defeat by India was their third loss to full-member opposition, West Indies the only side of note beaten along the way. After a 50-over World Cup in which England lost badly to six of them, the case for retaining the status quo – his leadership axis with Matthew Mott – was not furthered, even factoring in Twenty20’s inherent volatility.
Who knows, perhaps South Africa will enjoy the rarefied air of a first global men’s final and prevail on the day. This current class of Klaasens and the like are good enough to do so, certainly. Like similarly unbeaten India, the Proteas look cohesive, well rounded and well led by Aiden Markram and the coach, Rob Walter; a set XI of defined roles and a balanced attack that has seen only 12 players deployed and only the one spot rotated, based on whether conditions call for seam or spin.
As for England? They left out Chris Woakes on the basis of Reece Topley being a lock for the new ball alongside Jofra Archer, only to then leave Topley out of the XI for the first two matches. Chris Jordan was in and out throughout, Mark Wood likewise. Will Jacks started at No 3, was thrown the new ball for the first time in international T20 cricket – one over for 22 against Australia after being asked to defend a short boundary with a gale blowing directly into it – and then dumped for Sam Curran after only three games.
Curran was, initially, a one-off for the shortened thrash against Namibia but Buttler, fully trusting only of Archer and Adil Rashid, it seemed, was taken by the safety net of a fourth seamer. Plus, it would mean Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook getting into the contest a spot sooner. But even after this mid-tournament switch in structure, in a part of the world they know better than most, Moeen Ali kept striding out before one or both of them because, it turns out, top order left-handers are quite handy in T20, not least in a region of crosswinds. Not that this tactic ever actually came off.
England did have a top order left-hander on the bench in Ben Duckett, a guy who has a strike-rate of 144 in T20 these past three years and sweeps both sides of the wicket, orthodox and reverse. Not that he ever got close. Neither did Tom Hartley, a left-arm spinner brought on tour in the event of coming across a low, skiddy pitch such as the one in Guyana. Axar Patel, with whom Hartley has been compared by way of attributes, tucked in. Moeen, a spinner with 366 international wickets, did not bowl at all.
It wasn’t all bad. Phil Salt was outstanding against the Windies in Saint Lucia, even if he must adapt better to slower surfaces, while Archer’s first assignment back showcased the skills that justified the faith shown during his long layoff. Rashid, even at 36, is still an elite bowler. But Bairstow and Moeen, two other senior players, fell short when the pressure was at its greatest. Brook’s talents flickered at times, even if he and Liam Livingstone will rue that near-miss against South Africa.
All this may be read as wisdom after the event in some quarters and it is true the best XI can evolve over the course of a campaign, such as Moeen being swapped out for Liam Plunkett in 2019 when pitches were juicier than expected. But that team under the gimlet-eyed Eoin Morgan still felt pretty deep-rooted by way of ethos and approach, something that probably lived beyond his time when Buttler and Mott – to their credit also, it must be said – claimed a second white-ball title in 2022.
But these past two tournaments, in which both belts were vacated, have been spent chasing the right team and strategy, forever shuffling the pack and seeing the team fall back into it. Buttler, a shout to be England’s greatest white-ball batter, did not impact big games in either, possibly consumed by leadership when his runs are far more valuable. Mott, a likable man and decorated coach, was handed a massive staff at this tournament that, with tactical input from Kieron Pollard and Andrew Flintoff’s aura, plus a psychologist to make sure his messaging “landed”, felt more like a buttressing.
The problem with the Morgan-era comparison though is that, as well as the different starting point and the expectations it then raised, the world has changed. Morgan and the utterly zen Trevor Bayliss could plant seeds and nurture those roots with consistently first-choice squads in bilateral cricket. Before this tournament, Mott was bemoaning a lack of contact with his best players in between what are now annual global events, with England’s packed international calendar (and the need to rest players who still want to double their money in the leagues) pretty unhelpful.
If anything, the task of leading England’s two white-ball teams has become akin to the franchise world itself, getting the best out of players thrown together in a short space of time. Even the next white-ball assignment, Australia at home in September, is likely to involve a diluted squad due to its proximity to the Test tour of Pakistan. To that end Rob Key, the team director, must decide whether the pair can crack this new challenge or whether the next global event – the seemingly unkillable Champions Trophy that returns in 2025 – makes this the time to reset one or both roles.
After the debacle in India, Key said it could be the making of Buttler and Mott’s partnership “and if it isn’t, it isn’t and you move on”. Going by those words, and a team still coming up short against the best, the decision may be straightforward.
