Why England can win the T20 World Cup: Form, Bazball, Sophie Ecclestone, the Sciver-Brunts and young stars | Cricket News

The Australian Women’s cricket team is like a big boss in a video game. If you beat them, the glory should be yours, but you have to be the best at doing it.

India are the only side to beat South Stars in any form since September 2021 and even through T20 Super Overs. Australia is truly one of the most formidable sports outfits.

They enter this week’s T20 World Cup as defending champions, having won the 2020 edition on home soil. He won the tournament before that too, in the Caribbean in 2018.

Meg Lanning’s group also held the World Cup, Ashes and Commonwealth 50-over titles, meaning she needed a cabinet as deep as her squad to house all the prizes.

They are expected to continue their dynasty by making it three consecutive T20 World Cup victories in South Africa this month, with the all-Antipodean clash against New Zealand in the opening game.

It will be a surprise if Australia are not in the semi-finals in the last week of February and a surprise if they don’t lift the trophy at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday.

However, in England, it is possible to meet the match. The new “intimidating and super-aggressive” Englishman can only defeat the big boss. There are many reasons to believe that Heather Knight’s team can win the T20 World Cup…

Form

Since Jon Lewis became head coach in late November, England have not lost a competitive game. They steamrollered the West Indies in the Caribbean in December, winning 8-0 across the format with three victories in one-day internationals followed by five in T20Is.

England have won 13 of their last 16 T20Is, a run that includes successes against South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and India.

You may have to take the warm result with a pinch of salt but England have also won in both weeks, piling up 246-7 against South Africa in Stellenbosch before restricting New Zealand to 114-9 from 20 overs in Cape Town. .

Young blood

Since England finished runner-up to Australia in the 50-over World Cup last spring, the squad has been bolstered by 18-year-old Alice Capsey and Lauren Bell, 22. Two young people with a great season but who is very sending right. now.

Capsey, who is set for the highest since reaching his fifty in The Hundred on his Lord’s debut in 2021 as a 16-year-old, has just returned from a broken collarbone but did not show the effects of his 33-ball 61 against South Africa. week from point No. 3.

Bell has taken 16 wickets across his last five England matches, using height – the seamer’s lofty frame has earned him the nickname The Shard – and hooping in-swing to trouble batters.

Baseball

Lewis swapped the role of England bowling coach for England Women’s head coach in November and immediately challenged the new team to play a swashbuckling, Bazball style similar to the old one. “My job is to remove the handbrake.”

England wrote themselves when breezing past the West Indies pre-Christmas – Knight even started one innings in the Caribbean with a reverse-sweep four – and then thrashing against South Africa in Friday’s warm-up.

Capsey, Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley seemed the perfect players for the new policy – Dunkley drummed 59 off 19 balls against South Africa and followed it up with a 38-ball 60 against New Zealand.

The acid test will be whether he can perform against Australia if the sides meet in South Africa, with seamer Kate Cross recently telling. Sky Sports: “For us, it’s not a skill, it’s a change in mindset.

“If you put our names and Australian names on paper, I think they are very similar skill-wise, it’s just how we apply ourselves when we’re under pressure. I think Lewy (Jon Lewis) will free us up more than anything, almost like you don’t can fail.”

The Sciver-Brunts

They share the same goal – to push England to the T20 World Cup title – and now share the same name as Nat and Katherine using the title of Sciver-Brunt marriage moving forward.

All-rounder Nat hit hundreds against Australia in both 50-over World Cup meetings in 2022 and Lewis believes he has the ability to “dominate the team”.

He will also have a role to play the ball when he supports fellow seamers Bell and Katherine Sciver-Brunt and spinners Sophie Ecclestone (more on her in a bit), Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean.

At 37, Katherine may be playing in her last World Cup and hopes to bow out like Lionel Messi did for Argentina at the men’s soccer World Cup in December.

England’s leading T20 international wicket-taker of all time – 110 in 107 games at the time of writing – has not lost his energy and enthusiasm and can also provide a wallop with the bat when required.

Sophie Ecclestone

If you want to beat the best, it helps to have the best and England certainly have that in Ecclestone, the highest-ranked bowler in both T20 and one-day international cricket.

The left-arm spinner has 86 wickets in 65 T20Is at an average of 16.22 and an economy rate of six. On the occasions he doesn’t take wickets, he can usually be relied upon to keep things tight.

Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain said of Ecclestone: “He is incredibly accurate, very tall and very difficult to get after. Being the No 1 in the world sits very comfortably with him.

“He’s not much of a spinner, but T20 for spinners is a lot about bowling heavy balls to the pitch, tucking and aiming the stumps, bringing the lbw and bowled into play.”

It will come as no surprise if Ecclestone takes wickets at the World Cup – and makes serious money at Monday’s IPL auction, where he has a top reserve price of £50k.

Watch the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 live on Sky Sports in February.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka starts the tournament from 5pm on Friday (4.30pm on air) with England starting on Saturday against West Indies (12.30pm on air, 1pm first ball).