T20 World Cup 2022: SWOT analysis of England squad

England by far have been the most talked about team in the last couple of years. Be it because of their humiliating defeat at the hands of Australia in the Ashes recently or captain Eoin Morgan’s sudden retirement from international cricket, England cricket has dealt with a lot of criticisms of late.

On top of that, critics all across the globe are still salty about their renowned victory over New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup final. However, despite multiple setbacks, what hasn’t changed is their approach towards the game and how they keep up with pressure.

T20 World Cup is not just any other tournament that the Three Lions are planning to win but it’s the historical significance that matters the most at the moment. A huge section of cricket fans called England’s 2019 World Cup win a fluke and thus, this is a massive opportunity for them to prove otherwise.

India faced similar treatment when they defeated the West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final as a vast section called it a fluke but India with their win in the 1985 World Championship silenced the naysayers. This can be England’s opportunity to walk the same path and bring the prestigious trophy back home.

Do they actually have the potential? Here’s the all-important SWOT analysis of the England team ahead of the T20 World Cup:

Strengths

See the ball, hit the ball

It’s impossible to talk about England's cricket without mentioning their fearless approach across formats. For them, it doesn’t matter if the openers depart early as the middle-order batters are equally capable of changing the complexion of the game.

Morgan’s revolution in white-ball cricket led them to play the brand of cricket that a lot of countries are adopting at the moment but the kind of strength the English batters possess, it’s difficult to match that class.

Their recent tour to Pakistan for a seven-match T20I series proves that. Despite missing some of the key figures and playing in unfamiliar conditions, the Three Lions scored a whooping 1264 runs, which comes down to almost 181 runs per match. This shows that the team doesn’t change its approach on the basis of conditions or opponents but plays its natural game in every given circumstance.

Now, coming to individual players, captain Jos Buttler is likely to open the innings with Alex Hales while Dawid Malan will bat at number three.

Talking about the captain first, the 32-year-old averages 33.95 in T20Is and bats at a strike rate of 144.23, and on the other hand, his partner Hales bats at a strike rate of 137.41 in T20Is and averages more than 30. The destruction doesn’t end there, as the former number one T20I batter, Dawid Malan averages 39.34 in the shortest format and also bats at a strike rate of 138.68.

The ones that follow them are the likes of Ben Stokes at four, Liam Livingstone at five, Moeen Ali at six and Sam Curran at number seven. With everyone’s strike rate ranging over 130 in T20Is, England has enough firepower to chase or put a healthy total on board against any given opponent.

The team management also provides a lot of freedom to its players to play to their strength and thus, the team never fails to entertain. Their ‘see ball, hit ball’ formula is very much working for them and that indeed is going to be their biggest strength in Australia.

All-round capabilities

All-rounders are required for success in modern-day cricket. Be it Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis for Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021 or Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Dwayne Bravo for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021, all-rounders have played a massive role in the success of their team. In T20I cricket especially, you need players who offer different dimensions and the current England team definitely has that.

Other than the top three batters, everyone in the middle order can bowl and it provides the much-needed variety in the squad. A total of eight bowlers will always be available for captain Jos Buttler and that’s arguably one of England’s biggest strengths going into the T20 World Cup.

Even the bowling all-rounders like Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and David Willey can play match-winning cameos with the bat. Thus, when it comes to all-round capabilities, it’ll be hard for other teams to beat England.

Top-notch fielding

The England team is filled with gun fielders who’ll play a vital role in the big grounds of Australia. As the opponents will look to convert singles into doubles and doubles into triples, the English fielders will make it difficult for them in the middle.

Ben Stokes in a recent T20I match against Australia gave glimpses of his athleticism and also over the years has showed his agility as a boundary rider. Other than that, Livingstone and Jordan are pretty deadly in the field as well. Overall, they can save a lot of runs which will hold them in good stead.

Weaknesses

Leaking runs

Despite having a decent bowling line-up, the English team leaks a lot of runs when it comes to bowling. Other than Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid, none of the leading bowlers has an economy rate of less than eight runs per over in T20I cricket and that is something that the team needs to address going forward.

Even though they have depth in the bowling attack, quality remains a concern. Jofra Archer's absence is definitely a massive miss when it comes to quality. He was England's answer to difficult problems.

Now, even though Adil Rashid averages 25.06 in the shortest format of the game, the spinner has picked up just four wickets in his last nine matches. His record in Australia is terrible too. In the five matches that he has played down under, the 34-year-old has picked up just two wickets at 9.53. Meanwhile his spin-bowling partner Moeen Ali hardly bowled in the recent T20I series in Australia. Thus, pressure remains on the duo.

Jonny Bairstow’s absence

Even though Alex Hales is a proven custodian, Jonny Bairstow’s absence will be felt in Australia. The flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter (Bairstow) was in terrific form before being ruled out of the tournament. Considering the impact he can create, it’s a massive blow for England. In the 66 T20Is he has played for the national team, the 33-year-old has scored 1337 runs at an impressive strike rate of 136.42. 

He is also someone who can provide flexibility in the batting line-up and thus, would have fit perfectly in the English team. Hales, his replacement can’t guarantee that and that’s one of the negative points going forward. Even though it’s not a major loss for them, he (Bairstow) is someone who can create a difference and change the complexion of a game at any given point.

Opportunities

Establish themselves as white-ball supremacist

The defending champions of the ODI World Cup will have a massive opportunity to bag the T20 World Cup and set a new record in world cricket. No other cricketing nation has ever had the chance to call itself the defending champion of both the T20I and ODI formats and thus, this is an achievement England will like to grab as they plan to expand their supremacy in white-ball cricket.

The opportunity can soon turn into a possibility as England have enough firepower. In order to do so, Buttler and company need to stick to their strengths, play their natural game and most importantly, they can’t afford to get overconfident about their recent success against Pakistan and Australia.

Multiple records are up for grabs for Jos the Boss

The 32-year-old batter has represented England in 97 T20I matches and scored 2377 runs in the process. With that, he now has the opportunity to topple Eoin Morgan and become the leading run-scorer for England in the shortest format of the game. The England skipper needs just 82 runs in order to surpass the former cricketer.

The English opener will also have the opportunity to become England’s leading run scorer in T20 World Cups. Currently, Kevin Pietersen is leading the race with 580 runs while Buttler has 574 runs to his name. Thus, this is one achievement he is very likely to surpass in the multi-nation tournament.

Threats

Undercooked players

Despite coming to the tournament as one of the potential contenders to win the T20 World Cup, the English team has some undercooked players as the likes of Livingstone, Stokes and Jordan haven’t played a lot of T20I cricket lately. 

Moeen, one of the leaders of the squad during their tour to Pakistan revealed that the 29-year-old Livingstone isn’t fully ready for the mega tournament. The all-rounder has played just one T20I in the last two months and that’s not a good sign for the England team. The same can be said for their Test captain Ben Stokes, who hasn’t played a lot of T20 internationals and his form in the format is also a matter of concern. 

Coming to Jodan, he is considered to be England’s go-to bowler at the death but the 34-year-old has played only two T20Is in the last two months. Thus, like the other two players, he is also short of match practice. Also, being an injury-prone player, his progress will be continuously monitored.

Inexperienced captain

Even though Buttler is considered to be one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of modern-day cricket, his captaincy is something that needs to be tested. He will be leading the England side for the very first time in a major tournament and thus, will be under enormous pressure in Australia. 

His indecisive nature as captain was on show in the recently concluded Australia series where he didn’t appeal for Matthew Wade’s wicket despite the player obstructing the field during the first T20I. When asked if he’ll appeal during the T20 World Cup if a similar incident happens, Buttler seemed confused as he replied ‘Maybe Yes’.