England won their T20I World Cup warm-up series against Sri Lanka 3-0, setting them up for the tournament to begin in four days time.
The result continues an unbeaten run for England in T20I bilateral series since Harry Brook took over as captain last year. Having not had key members of their squad available in series leading up to the World Cup, it also ticked off questions against them going into the competition. While there are still some uncertainties, having won the preceding ODI series as well, their trip to Sri Lanka marks a welcome return to winning ways after a demoralising few months.
England in T20 World Cup mix
Beyond India being streaks ahead of the rest, it's hard to pick out where teams rank going into the T20 World Cup. Australia suffered a bruising series loss to Pakistan in the last week, and will be missing Pat Cummins for the whole tournament and Josh Hazlewood for at least the first half. Pakistan's chances will be hampered if they go through with their boycott against India, while South Africa and New Zealand are part of an ambiguous melee of the rest. Where England fit is also difficult to pinpoint, but, off the back of the Sri Lanka series, they should be quietly confident.
England's struggles in ODIs over the last few years haven't translated into similar T20I performance, and they have a side studded with star-power. While they perhaps lack a pacer with genuine X-factor beyond Jofra Archer, backing their all-rounders and packing the top order is a formula which has worked. It's worked well enough that they can go into the tournament confident of being among the best of the rest.
Off-field chaos deepens despite on-field results
Brook's admission after the first T20I of lying to protect his teammates over his altercation with a Wellington bouncer threw another log onto England's off-field fire. While it would have been hoped that his press conference ahead of the ODI series would have left the story to peter out, the lingering feeling that the whole truth was still to come out kept it burning.
The questions of a drinking culture under Brendon McCullum have followed England all winter, worsened by heavy losses during the Ashes. What the T20I series has proved is that on-field wins can't mask those questions. In large part, that's because those questions are no longer about drinking culture, and also no longer really about Brook. They're about a failure of team management in allowing Brook to face the music alone, and a dressing room culture so afraid of challenging its leadership that it ties itself up in lies. If futures were being considered ahead of the Sri Lanka series, the on-field results during it can't outweigh the balance of the damage done off it.
Curran's one-size-fits-all role
Newly back into England's white-ball plans, Sam Curran quickly wedged himself into their T20 World Cup XI. Having re-examined his T20 role over the last year, he now finds himself once again as England's fix-it player. He opened the bowling with Jofra Archer in the first two T20Is, while also bowling at the death – similar to his 2022 T20 World Cup mould. England only picked a second specialist new-ball option in the final T20I, when Luke Wood came in for Archer. With England preferring Jamie Overton in the first two T20Is, that leaves Curran to take the powerplay, depending on the surface.
Curran took on the bowling role with mixed results against Sri Lanka. He took a hat-trick in the first match, but was punished at the start of the innings. That pattern continued in the second when he conceded three fours in his first four balls. Part of the way England have constructed their side gives them enough options with the ball to adapt. In the first match of the series, Will Jacks didn't bowl an over. In the second, he bowled four. That also means the neither batting depth nor bowling is as significantly weakened as it would by bey picking another specialist. Curran scored an impressive half-century in the final game of the series, while Adil Rashid comes in at No.10. That second seamer role is still the most nagging question England have, however, and whether splitting the role between Curran and Overton will suffice across the tournament.
Banton in middle order possession
Tom Banton took full advantage of an injury to Ben Duckett to take possession of a rare spot in England's middle-order. Having played exclusively at No.5 and 6 since his recall, the No.4 spot is a more natural fit for Banton, especially in the subcontinent. He scored a clinical half-century in the second T20I, and was particularly impressive against Sri Lanka's spinners, to guard against Duckett coming back in. Having burst onto the scene as a teenager, Banton fell out of England's plans in his early 20s, caught up in the whirl of all the opportunities at his feet. Establishing himself among England's top white-ball brass shows the maturity of a player now poised to fulfil that early promise.
Tongue on the bench
Josh Tongue was called up to the T20 squad for the Sri Lanka series both off the back of his Ashes success and the impression he made in The Hundred over the summer. There was an assumption that England would want to get a look at him before the World Cup, but that went out the window when they picked Wood for the final T20I. Tongue, therefore, will go to the tournament uncapped in T20Is. There may still be a part for Tongue to play, however. Archer's workload, as ever, presents the possibility of injury during a busy tournament, and if England's all-rounder approach comes unstuck, he could be fast-tracked in to take the new ball. It's a scenario with several moving parts, but one Tongue could be the beneficiary of.
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