England hasn’t been very impressive at the T20 World Cup, but they won’t care if Harry Brook’s team gets another “ugly” victory with one game left to guarantee them a spot in the semi-finals.
In their first Super Eights match, England defeated Sri Lanka by 51 runs on Sunday after bowling them out for 95, but before that, Sri Lanka had restricted England to 146/9 after they once again faltered with the bat.
The 2010 and 2022 T20 World Cup winners will advance to the final four with a victory over Pakistan on Tuesday at the same stadium, as the match against New Zealand on Saturday was rained out.
“We know that we can play a lot better. But at the end of the day in tournament cricket, you just need to get the win, however ugly,” AFP quoted England all-rounder Liam Dawson as saying.
Following their successful defence of below-average totals against Nepal and Italy, England bowlers saved the day for the third time in the competition.
“The fight we’ve shown with the ball shows that this team is in a very good place,” said Dawson.
With Usman Tariq as their special weapon and his noticeable pause before releasing the ball, Pakistan has a potent spin attack. However, Dawson asserted that England’s powerful slow-bowling arsenal would allow them to fight fire with fire.
As seam options, England skipper Brook also has left-arm swing bowler Sam Curran, speedster Jofra Archer, and hit-the-deck-hard Jamie Overton. Will Jacks destroyed Sri Lanka’s top order on Sunday by opening the bowling with his off-spin thanks to England’s adaptability.
Together with Archer, who dismissed both opening batsmen, he recorded figures of 3/22, leaving Sri Lanka in ruins at 34/5 at the conclusion of the six-over powerplay. Brook, who bowls left-arm spin, has countless alternatives thanks to England’s versatility, according to Dawson and Jacob Bethell.
“We’re all very different types of spinners. Jacksy gets very good over-spin, very good bounce. Dilly (wrist spinner Adil Rashid) has all these variations and me, I’m probably more of a defensive spinner and that’s my role. I’m just trying to be consistent for the captain. Adil can use all of his tricks and he comes on to get wickets and get us back in games or put us ahead in games. Obviously, Jacks, he’s been brilliant. He’s exploited conditions here very well. And I think the way Brookie captained today was phenomenal, how he used us all differently.”
However, Dawson warned that the tacky slow track they faced on Sunday—which had perspired under covers following days of rain in Kandy—could play quite differently on Tuesday night.
“Obviously, a different challenge on Tuesday at a night game. It could be a better wicket. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
