Sixteen wins in 18 games – how England found the secret to T20 success: The ‘era of Harry Brook’, Jofra Archer’s powerplay magic touch and how Brendon McCullum tweak paid off
England have made it into the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup on the back of an impressive run of 16 wins out of 18 completed matches in the format since Harry Brook took over as captain.
While the ODI team has lost 25 of their 38 games since the start of the 2023 World Cup, England have found a formula that works in the shortest form of the game.
No country has a better winning percentage than Brook’s team since he was appointed in April last year, and it has led them to a fifth consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final, and within two games of a third global crown in the format.
Ahead of Thursday’s titanic semi-final against co-hosts and reigning champions India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Daily Mail Sport identifies the key factors behind their superb form…
CONTINUITY OF SELECTION
England picked the same XI for the middle five of their seven matches at this tournament and having clarity of roles has undoubtedly given players confidence to perform.
There have generally been fewer differences between the 20 and 50-over white-ball squads over the past 10 months, too. This group, for example, began their preparations in Sri Lanka with three ODIs last month – and Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Brydon Carse were the only members of that party who didn’t go on to be part of the World Cup squad.
They have also been extremely fortunate with injuries. Whereas fellow semi-finalists India, New Zealand and South Africa have all been forced to replace players within their original 15-man lists, England have maintained a clean bill of health.
England have been rewarded for their consistency of selection under captain Harry Brook (left) which has seen Will Jacks grow into his role in the T20 team
BELIEF THEY CAN WIN FROM ANYWHERE
England’s two defeats in the past 12 months are the group fixture against West Indies in Mumbai, and a five-over thrash in wet conditions versus South Africa in Cardiff last September, when they failed to reach a 69-run target.
Generally, they refuse to lose and have internally discussed the significance of the final win of their recent 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka, when they defended a 129-run target despite their opponents being 90 for four with seven overs remaining and having already wrapped up the series victory.
Since then, Sam Curran has defended 10 off the last over against Nepal and Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed persuaded themselves that a requirement of 42 off 17 balls from a standing start, on a used Colombo pitch, was perfectly doable.
Sam Curran defended 10 off the last over against Nepal to seal victory for England, another example of the team refusing to accept defeat
POWERPLAY POTENCY
Nothing disrupts an opponent’s innings like taking wickets, and the effect of this only intensifies if they come inside the first six overs when the fielding restrictions are in place.
Led by a resurgent Jofra Archer, England took 18 powerplay wickets in their first six matches of this competition, before drawing a blank against the Black Caps at the Premadasa Stadium.
Although he began that match with a slower ball, as a surprise element, Archer has generally set the tone with his hostility, rarely dropping below the 90mph mark with the new ball. He is the most prolific powerplay wicket-taker in the competition, with eight of his 10 scalps coming in the first six overs.
Jofra Archer is the most prolific powerplay wicket-taker in the competition with eight
GUT CALLS
Instinct has served England’s think tank well since arriving out on the subcontinent, with Brook’s hunch to begin the defence of 147 in the opening game of the Super Eights against Sri Lanka with off-spinner Will Jacks – a player whose economy rate was touching 14 at that stage – proving inspired.
In Brook’s mind it had been a toss up between Liam Dawson and Jacks, who claimed three for 22 on the way to his third of four man-of-the-match gongs.
Then Brook himself walked in at No 3 for the first time in his career and belted a 50-ball hundred hours after coach Brendon McCullum had suggested the promotion because ‘Pakistan is your team’. The 27-year-old averages 84.1 against them in Tests including four centuries and his highest score of 317, and 62.7 in T20s. It paid off.
Then, against the Kiwis, Brook left an Archer over in the tank and went for Ahmed’s leg-spin for the 20th over of the innings.
All-rounder Rehan Ahmed hit 19 off seven balls to see England home against New Zealand but has been selfless about the prospect of being dropped for the semi-final
TEAM SPIRIT
Rehan Ahmed’s selfless response to the prospect of being dropped for the semi-final highlighted where the focus lies for this emerging England group.
‘I know the team balance right now is great and that’s why we are where we are. I’m very easy,’ he said, after taking two Kiwi wickets and smacking an unbeaten 19 off seven balls. ‘I’m not too bothered about my place. I think Baz and Brooky will definitely put out the best team they think is going to win, as they did here.’
Meanwhile, Jamie Overton, the man he displaced, has been saying similar things privately about the team coming first.
And Jacks capped it all when he made clear who the team were playing for, declaring before travelling from Sri Lanka back to India that ‘this is the era of Harry Brook’.
