Gory to glory? Why England can bounce back from awful Ashes at World Cup

What better way for England to rebound from a winter of discontent than by winning a global white-ball title?

The Ashes was awful. The series lost in 11 days, with England slammed for their preparation (or lack thereof) and communication, as well as (allegedly) taking on a little too much lubrication.

That was before we even got on to shot selection. Boy, were there some bad ones…

The unwanted headlines did not stop when the Ashes concluded.

Shortly after England’s series-ending defeat to Australia in Sydney, news broke that white-ball captain Harry Brook had scuffled with a nightclub bouncer the evening before an ODI in New Zealand in November. A £30k fine and a final warning came his way.

Brook initially said he was alone when “clocked” by that member of security personnel in Wellington but later admitted he lied to “protect team-mates”, reportedly Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue.

Thankfully, England have started to generate some wanted headlines, too, with Brook leading the team to five successive victories in Sri Lanka, clinching a come-from-behind 2-1 ODI series success before a 3-0 sweep in the T20 international leg.

England now have intel on Sri Lankan pitches – good ones, spinning ones, the worst one Brook has batted on – with the side to play all of their T20 World Cup Super 8 games in the country should they make it past round one. And they should make it past round one.

Even taking into account how volatile T20 cricket can be and that no team should be underestimated, if they cannot finish in the top two of a group containing an inconsistent West Indies (14 wins in their last 43 T20Is) and associate nations Scotland, Nepal and Italy, then head coach Brendon McCullum, already under pressure after the Ashes debacle, will probably be toast.

From our performance in Sri Lanka, we’re immensely satisfied with the work that we’ve done, the way that we’ve been able to adapt to different conditions, the style that we’ve brought and the tactical acumen that we’ve shown.

England’s bowling attack full of variety

McCullum said he was willing to evolve – if not completely shift his ideals and certainly not be told how to run things – in Test cricket and he has already done that in the white-ball arena, to be fair.

When England were dumped out in the group stage of the 2025 Champions Trophy, there was not a left-arm seamer or left-arm spinner in sight (Bethell would have bowled some of the latter if not for being ruled out with a hamstring strain).

The bowling attack was samey and the results likewise. Three games. Three defeats.

At this T20 World Cup, though, England’s squad features two left-arm pacemen (the box of tricks that is Sam Curran – watch out for his incredibly slow moon balls – plus Luke Wood) and two left-arm spinners (Bethell and the dependable Liam Dawson).

Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton and Tongue are the right-arm quicks, while there are a pair of leg-spinners in master Adil Rashid and apprentice Rehan Ahmed, as well as an off-spinner in Will Jacks.

That’s not to say the attack is flawless. Pace was flogged at times by Sri Lanka’s batters during the T20 series so they may be a case for, most likely, Overton to drop out for Wood or Tongue if the bowling needs a little more cutting edge in certain games.

The benefit of Overton, though, is that he offers run-scoring ability down at No 8, giving England’s batters – the real strength of this team – license to go even harder. Not that opening duo Phil Salt and Jos Buttler need any invitation to do that.

Salt, Buttler spearhead power-packed batting line-up

That pairing clobbered 126 runs inside eight overs on the night England racked up 304-2 against South Africa in Manchester last summer, with Salt then going on to notch a national-record 39-ball T20I century having initially played second fiddle to Buttler.

As a combo, they average 51.45, score at 10.74 runs an over and have amassed 1,132 run in 23 innings. Three of Salt’s four T20I tons have come after opening alongside Buttler, with the latter passing fifty on all three of those occasions. They appear to spur each other on.

Following them in the order are Bethell, Tom Banton or Ben Duckett, Brook, Curran, Jacks and Overton. Six-hitters all of them. Dawson at No 9 is no slouch either.

There is variety, too, with three batters (Bethell, Duckett, Curran) left-handed; another positive change from the Champions Trophy when Duckett was the only southpaw.

England should have little trouble scoring runs on good pitches, while the sweep-sealing victory over Sri Lanka, when Curran’s 58 off 48 balls guided the side from 60-6 to an ultimately winning 128-9 as the spinners profited on a slow, turning track, showed Brook’s men can win in uglier fashion as well. A great trait to have.

The nightclub alteration in New Zealand, and decision to head out the evening before a game in the first place, highlight that Brook probably needs a bit more nous off the field, but on it he seems a pretty clued-up captain and astute tactician. ‘Hazball’ is working ahead of Brook’s first global tournament in charge.

India are overwhelming T20 World Cup favourites but England are potentially the best bet elsewhere as they chase a third title, after success in the Caribbean in 2010 and Australia in 2022.

A semi-final place is probably the minimum requirement. Anything less and the knives will be out. Any more discontent and the McCullum era will likely be discontinued.

Time to right those Ashes wrongs, boys.

England’s T20 World Cup fixtures (first round)

All times UK and Ireland; all games live on Sky Sports

• vs Nepal (Sunday February 8) – Mumbai (9.30am)
• vs West Indies (Wednesday February 11) – Mumbai (1.30pm)
• vs Scotland (Saturday February 14) – Kolkata (9.30am)
• vs Italy (Monday February 16) – Kolkata (9.30am)

Watch the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com