LONDON – England’s dismal Ashes tour left Brendon McCullum’s position as head coach under significant scrutiny and this T20 World Cup could dictate his future. Six players who featured in the 4-1 Test series defeat to Australia are in the squad for this event including Harry Brook, who took over the white-ball captaincy last year and was lucky to keep it after a late-night altercation with a bouncer outside a nightclub in New Zealand. Brook’s latest public apology only managed to turn the spotlight onto England’s management and their attempted cover-up.
The off-field doom and gloom threatens to obscure the fact that England have consistently been among the world’s best T20 teams over the past decade. They are the only team to have reached at least the semi-finals of the last four World Cups, one of three teams to have won the tournament twice, and their recent results are hugely impressive. Under Brook’s leadership, they have stuck to a simple formula — a deep batting line-up and a spin-heavy bowling attack — with success, most notably when romping to a record-breaking 304 for 2 against South Africa in September
They should cruise through the group stages easily enough in India, but the Super 8s will be a much tougher challenge. They are seeded to play in Sri Lanka in the second round, and their semi-final hopes will rely on them playing spin in a far more convincing manner than they did throughout their 4-1 thrashing in India 12 months ago – and in Tuesday night’s comeback win in Pallekele. From there? Anything is possible
Ten wins and a single defeat in their last 11 completed games leading into Sunday’s game against Nepal in Mumbai – and the loss was a rain-reduced farce on a miserable night in Cardiff
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