T20 World Cup: England must show why they are world champions after reaching Super 8s | Cricket News

Sky Sports Cricket Expert Nasser Hussain looks back on England’s qualification to the Super 8 stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup, looks ahead to the match against the West Indies on Wednesday night and says who he is backing to make the semi-finals …

England, of all the teams, have probably had the least cricket in this tournament. But the main thing was to move on to Super 8s.

They are world champions and now they have to show why they are.

They played a quarter match against Scotland, a full match against Australia… and then two more very short matches, as they won very convincingly against Oman, then had another win in the rain against Namibia.

Against Scotland, who knows if they would have managed to score without the rain… but they weren’t very convincing on the pitch and with the ball in that first match in Barbados. I think they’ve since fixed that.

They were beaten by Australia, but that can happen to anyone: Australia are a powerful team in all formats.

Then there is the fear of losing, the fear of going out. This is why England did such a good job in Antigua, where they have been convincing in their last two matches. She was in the last chance room and had to produce her “A” match against two associated nations and she did it.

“England will not take any team lightly in the Super 8s”

They probably haven’t had as much time in the middle as they would like… but in the next five days they have three games, and I think they will enjoy the pace of playing cricket.

This is the case of some teams which reach the Super 8s… the Indian hitters, who had to play a lot in New York, their first order, the South African first order, they enter this stage without many points to their assets. because hitting was so difficult.

The courts don’t bother me in this tournament. In the IPL, it was too batting-oriented and there were too many big scores, sixes and fours.

Here, it was a little more in favor of the bowlers. In New York I think the pitching went too far in favor of the bowlers, but Dallas has been good, Barbados has been decent and I’d say St Lucia will probably be the pick of the lot if you’re a hitter.

I don’t think there is an easier side to the Super 8 draw. We are now in a situation where all teams are hoping to qualify for the semi-finals.

The shorter the game, the shorter the format, anything can happen. And as we’ve already seen, there were some incredible upsets: the Associate Nations showed themselves proud, they played a lot of good cricket.

As Pakistan found out after losing in the Super Over to the United States, and as Canada found out against them in the opening match, every team struggled against the United States – c It’s a very good team.

England will not take any team lightly. It will be a tough match and they hope the job is already done.

“The surface of Saint Lucia suits the English style”

But first they face the hosts West Indies and it will be a great atmosphere in St Lucia on Wednesday night.

But a large crowd supporting the opposition won’t bother them too much. These English players have participated in the IPL, they have played big matches, World Cup finals.

Plus, they will be delighted to be in Saint Lucia. It’s a good pitch, which suits their style of play – they have hitters like Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, who want to go hard with the ball… although the West Indies, as they say knows, , also have very big hitters.

It was very important in England’s last game that Bairstow and Harry Brook played really well, setting up this wonderful partnership. It’s another sign for England that these two have had time in the middle before this game.

They also have pace in their arsenal with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, as well as Adil Rashid, the No.1 ranked T20 bowler… they have it all in place.

Archer has impressed so far. He has good pace and he adapts to the conditions… he is a very intelligent cricketer. It’s not just about rhythm, rhythm, rhythm.

Liam Livingstone is the only concern of the West Indian match, with that secondary tension of his – it’s not something that’s going to go away in the coming days.

If he doesn’t pass the fitness test, I’d play Sam Curran – he’s the equal parts replacement. This gives you another versatile option and another left-handed option.

We now enter the business portion of the tournament. There are no easy games and England will have to give their best if they are to qualify for the semi-finals. It’s just about mastering your skills, putting in a performance and getting going.

They are world champions in this format and when other teams look at England, they will look at that long batting line-up and think: ‘we better be at our best’.

South Africa are a good team, but I’ll go with England and hosts West Indies to get out of their group.

What’s next for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup?

The Super 8 stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup begins on Wednesday when the UNITED STATES confront South Africa in Antigua, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 3 p.m. (first dance at 3:30 p.m.).

EnglandThe opening match of Super 8 takes place against the co-hosts of West Indies later the same day in Saint Lucia, live on Sky Sports Cricket to 1 a.m. (first dance at 1:30 a.m.) into the early hours of Thursday morning.

England are in Group 2 for the second stage of the eight-team tournament, alongside West Indies, USA and South Africa.

Group 1 includes Afghanistan and India, as well as Australia and Bangladesh, who play each other on Thursday.

The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals.

Watch every T20 World Cup match, including the final in Barbados on Saturday June 29, live on Sky Sports.

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