Opinion
England are showing Australia who’s boss of T20 cricket. But why are they so good?
England have lost only one match in this format in their two home series against Pakistan and Australia. They have a perfect bowling attack boasting the pace of Jofra Archer and Wark wood, and their short-ball tactic has been key in their series win over Australia. With both taking one wicket each, their economy rate is also at six an over, which is perfect for this format.
Furthermore, their fielding has been a shining light in this format as well. For example, Eoin Morgan’s runout on Steve Smith was crucial to the English victory, because if Smith gets on a roll, we all know what he can do with the bat.
Jofra Archer’s runout of Aston Agar shows fielding is crucial in this format, allowing England to stop Australia’s charge in the death overs. Given the Aussies had no recognised batsmen, this was crucial to England winning on home turf. Moreover, taking crucial catches were key to the second match, keeping Australia to a modest total of 157.
Australia may not have not played for five months, but this is still a very modest result for their standards, particularly with Steve Smith and David Warner in the team. You would think they would make over 200.
Holding the spin option was also crucial to England’s victories, with Adil Rashid taking three wickets in the series for 54 runs off eight overs.
But let’s not forget the batting, which is the creme de la creme in terms of T20 batting for England. With Jos Buttler having an excellent series with scores of 44 and 77 not out off 54 balls in the chase, it’s clear he’s a T20 specialist. The forgotten man, Dawid Malan, has found his format. He has been successful in both innings with 66 in the first match and 42 in the second.
Not to mention they have the heir to Kevin Pietersen, Tom Banton, who performed well against Pakistan with 137 runs over the three games. He hasn’t yet fired against Australia, but the kid can play.
England have the perfect balance in their line-up, with batting depth all round and also a bowling attack that is very hard to hit away. The Poms are becoming a powerhouse in T20 cricket and could go into the T20 World Cup as favourites if they peak at the right time.
What do you think, cricket fans? Are England T20’s best team?
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