England are the first men’s side to hold the 50-over and 20-over World Cups at the same time following their five wicket win over Pakistan on Sunday. That is down to a lot of factors. Let’s have a look at a few of those.
Sam Curran – player of the tournament
Sam Curran probably wasn’t a definite pick for the XI a few months ago but has proved his worth, with his ability to bowl at various periods of the innings and also add lower order runs if required. The truth is, he wasn’t required much, thanks to Jos Buttler & Alex Hales’ dominant blistering opening partnerships as the tournament grew older.
The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson also agreed that Curran was integral to England’s triumphant campaign. “[Curran] was vital. He has developed into a top bowler, especially at the death, in recent months. His greatest skill was his brain; perhaps because he bats at the death so understands what his opponent is trying to do. His ability to burgle a cheap over or two in the power play was superb, too.”
Curran ended the tournament with 13 wickets at an average of 11.38. An incredible return for a player who has battled back from injuries and loss of form in the last few years. His economy was also just 6.5, which just proves how vital he was and how easy it was for captain Buttler to throw the ball to him when he needed to.
Hales shows why he is still one of the best T20 openers in the world
Another player who also wasn’t in England’s ‘strongest’ XI in the summer was Alex Hales. Hales hadn’t played for England since he was dropped from the team in the 50-over format after a ban for using recreational drugs in 2019.
However, the 33-year-old was recalled for the Pakistan tour and the World Cup following Jonny Bairstow’s freak leg injury while playing golf, which ruled him out for the foreseeable future.
Hales has repaid the faith, with stunning contributions (212 runs at 42.4), most notably in the semi-final against India, where he blasted 86 not out.
“Credit to Rob Key for recalling Hales exactly when he needed him and for giving him the right role. He was superb in the first three of England’s four knock out games. Against India, he was out of this world” Macpherson said.
Jos Buttler’s captaincy
England skipper Jos Buttler captained the side excellently. He spoke himself about winning the tournament was a ‘million miles away’ following their rain-affected defeat to Ireland in the group stage.
What they did from that moment was win every single game and win a World Cup. That is not easy. Buttler’s ability to read the game, mix his bowlers up and also play match winning innings himself (225 runs at 45) helped them to this victory. Hales and himself were most effective in the latter stages of the tournament, which limited England’s middle order’s time in the middle but put them in very good positions to win games.
‘Superhero’ Ben Stokes
Everybody is running out of words to describe what Ben Stokes does. Headingley, the World Cup final at Lords in 2019 and the World Cup final on Sunday. How does the man do what he does? Especially after the heartbreak of 2016, where Carlos Brathwaite smoked those four sixes to win the tournament for West Indies.
Stokes hit 52* in the final against Pakistan this time around to ensure glory was on his side. What a player.
Where does this rank England in terms of white ball sides?
Now that they hold both white ball World Cups, where do England rank in terms of white ball teams in the history of the game?
“They are a superb cross format white ball side. Australia of the 2000s and perhaps West Indies in the 1970/80s still lie ahead, but England have a chance at next year’s World Cup to really show their dominance.
“The beauty is the system, the way every player knows the philosophy and the sheer depth of talent” Will added.
England’s plans looking ahead
There are a lot of players that have been missing from England’s side, which makes their victory even more impressive.
Dawid Malan & Mark Wood were both ruled out of the final due to injuries. Jofra Archer has been out for 18 months with shoulder issues and stress fractures. Reece Topley was ruled out just before the tournament following an impressive year for the left armer.
“Obviously there are plenty of players to come back from injury. I see Will Jacks, Will Smeed and Rehan Ahmed coming into the mix in the coming months and years” Macpherson said.
Jacks, 23, appeared in the seven match T20 series against Pakistan in September and scored 40 on debut.
Smeed, 21, has just announced he’s given up red ball cricket to focus on his white ball credentials. He is the scorer of the first hundred in the Hundred and already boasts over 1,000 T20 runs. He could come into the reckoning, alongside Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg spinner from Leicestershire, who is with the England test squad as a net bowler and someone who England think very highly of.
Ben Duckett and Harry Brook both had an impressive series against Pakistan, which means 35-year-old Malan could be looking over his shoulder.
With the depth of England’s batting and bowling getting better and better, they could go on to be one of the white ball greats in history.
By Joe Glayshier (@joeglayshier).
JG Writes 