England have become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup after a battling victory over Pakistan.
Their ascent to the top of the Super Eight table marks a radical turnaround from the group stage, where they nearly came unstuck against Nepal, were comprehensively beaten by West Indies, and wobbled against both Scotland and Italy. Even having been placed in theory in the easier Super Eight group, pitted against those who had secured their qualification in far more commanding fashion made it easy to predict a spiritless slide to the second half of the table and elimination.
There’s a perception built off a catastrophic Test and ODI performances in the first half of the winter, that England are a collectively bad side. For some fans, their players are clueless, the management is too hands off, and – in a subcontinental tournament – they were bound be undone by spin as soon as they stepped onto the park. Before they reached the Super Eights stage, England had lost four out five of their most recent T20 World Cup matches against Full Member nations since they won the trophy in 2022. It was largely ignored that they hadn’t lost a bilateral T20I series in the full year leading up to the World Cup.
Critics will point to a bowling attack and batting lineup that lacks role definition, or that puts players in unfamiliar jobs. But England’s group stage was successful in a large part thanks to the quality of the pieces, even if the puzzle doesn't quite fit together neatly. Will Jacks rarely bats at No.7 in franchise cricket, but his half-century against Italy saved them from setting a below par target, while it was Sam Curran, uncomfortable at times at No.6, who turned up with a brilliant death over against Nepal to close out the game. When England were hammering out their final XI in their series against Sri Lanka before the start of the tournament, they picked both Curran and Jacks to deepen their batting and provide cover to a bowling attack lacking clarity. So far, there has always been one more batter to come, or a bowler to turn to to change the game.
That it was down to Curran and Jacks in the first place speaks to a greater issue. England’s star bankers have been at best inconsistent and at worst bad so far. Jos Buttler has come in for the most criticism, built off being England’s greatest-ever white-ball batter with a brief to deliver in big tournaments. When he was dismissed for two against Pakistan, that extended his run of consecutive single figure scores to four. The opening partnership he shares with Phil Salt was a key part of why many earmarked England for success ahead of the tournament. Salt has shown flashes, but is yet to deliver at the level expected of a back-to-back IPL winner, while with Buttler looking more and more in a rut with every passing innings, England’s disconnected middle-order has been exposed early.
Against Pakistan, that middle order was once again asked to repair things. Jacob Bethell, moved down a place to accommodate Harry Brook at three, should have been out for seven before he holed out three balls later. Tom Banton under-edged the first ball he faced from Usman Tariq. But this time, the change made to move Brook up two positions to No.3 arrested the slide.
There’s a logical reason why Brendon McCullum wanted to move Brook up, beyond simply re-jigging a struggling middle-order, which Brook explained in the post-match press conference. He averages 46.20 against pace in T20Is compared to 19.29 against spin. One of his greatest strengths is hitting the ball where fielders aren’t, so maximising the number of balls he faces during the powerplay fielding restrictions rather than when the spinners turn the screw in the middle overs makes sense.
Nevertheless, Brook and England were helped by some sub-par fielding. In addition to Tariq putting down a sitter off Bethell, a couple of sloppy incidents in the field saw balls go for boundaries which should have been stopped. England also had a bad day in the field that left them chasing at least 10 runs more than they should have been.
Beyond fielding, a theme of the tournament have been teams sliding to defeat rather than being overcome by standout performances. Sri Lanka reduced England to 146-9 in Pallekele but then batted poorly to be bowled out for 95. Without the flat wickets they’ve been destructive on over the last year, India – by far pre-tournament favourites – have looked beatable. In the 2024 tournament, both India and South Africa took clean sheets into the final. This time, only West Indies and South Africa remain unbeaten.
Before the tournament, it was difficult to work out who the frontrunners were behind India. With the surfaces acting as a leveller, taking away the option to rely on muscle alone, to some extent that’s still the case. England might not be great, but so far few have been. By traditional standards, having out-of-form star players, an inexperienced middle order and an under-powered bowling attack makes a bad T20 World Cup side. But, in this tournament, it’s worked well enough to get them to the semi-finals.
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