Shayan Ahmad Khan, Jarrod Kimber
Defending champions England have been one of the best limited-overs teams in the world since 2015. In 2022, they became the first men’s team to hold the World Cups in both formats. They will enter the 2024 T20 World Cup as one of the favourites, with a squad that’s versatile, power-packed, and with possibly an X-factor in Jofra Archer – provided he’s fully fit. They are missing Ben Stokes, who opted out of the tournament to focus on regaining full bowling fitness.
Captain Jos Buttler has been a key figure in England’s white-ball revolution. He is likely to open the batting with Phil Salt, followed by Will Jacks at three.
“It is something that I am adapting to. I started doing it in November in the Caribbean for England, so I have probably done it ten or a few more times,” Jacks said about batting at No.3 during the ongoing IPL 2024.
A left-field thought could be to have Salt and Jacks open the batting to maximise the powerplay. Buttler is certainly versatile enough to bat at three, given his record in the middle overs. In fact, he has even batted once each at numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 for England in T20Is since the last T20 World Cup.
Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, confirmed that Jonny Bairstow would bat at number four. Although Bairstow has been opening the batting during the IPL, he has previously batted at four for England in T20Is. In 15 innings since November 2020, he has 367 runs at an average of 40.77 and a strike rate of 139.54 at that position.
Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran are likely to form the rest of their batting unit. They can be flexible with their positions depending on each batter’s ideal entry points. However, Livingstone and Curran have not been in great form in the ongoing IPL, while Moeen hasn’t had much batting time in the tournament.
Archer’s comeback strengthens England’s pace attack. Key explained his importance, and said that his progress was being tracked.
“Jofra’s that bowler that’s just so special, you do everything you can to try to get him back playing,” Key was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve taken the longer road this time. But as always with Jofra, it’s fingers crossed until he’s out there playing. You’re waiting for something really good to happen – you don’t quite believe it until he’s there. But he’s tracking well at the moment.”
If he’s at full fitness, Archer is a natural candidate to start things off in the powerplay, alongside Reece Topley and Curran. England also have the option of using the offspin of Moeen and Jacks for possible match-ups against left-handers.
Adil Rashid is a good fit for the middle overs, while Mark Wood offers the pace option if they want to use that. On spin-friendly surfaces, they can call on Tom Hartley to replace one of the quicks.
In their likely first XI, England’s best death-overs options will be Archer and Curran. The other man who can do that job is Chris Jordan, if he is playing. Jordan has also improved as a batter, something Key spoke of as a factor in his recall.
“The fact that he can bowl at the death has always been something we look for, but his batting seems to have kicked on a bit this time. Having power is a big thing out in the Caribbean, so that’s why CJ has comfortably got in there.”
England have several options for their probable playing combinations.
If they want to go batting heavy, they can have: Buttler, Salt, Jacks, Bairstow, Brook, Livingstone, Moeen, Curran, Archer, Adil and pick one of Hartley, Topley, Wood or Jordan for the last spot.
If conditions demand a spin-oriented attack, they can drop Livingstone and add a tweaker. That would make the XI: Buttler, Salt, Jacks, Bairstow, Brook, Moeen, Curran, Hartley, Archer, Adil and one among Topley, Wood or Jordan. Livingstone does offer handy match-up options, but with Adil’s leggies, Hartley’s left-arm finger spin and the off-break options in Moeen and Jacks, his bowling will likely be surplus anyway. And in the top order, the other batters have shown much better recent form.
Similarly, if they want a pace-heavy attack instead of spin-dominant one, they could go with: Buttler, Salt, Jacks, Bairstow, Brook, Moeen, Curran, Archer, Adil and two out of Topley, Wood and Jordan.
England’s top seven has multiple bowling options and they bat deep, which gives them a lot of flexibility. The four-match T20I series against Pakistan will be the perfect opportunity for them to get some game time as a group before the tournament, and figure out which combination they prefer.
