Preview - Team England

By Gokul Gopal

During World T20 2007:

England could manage only one victory during the 2007 edition of the World T20. Their win came against Zimbabwe and took the team to the second round. However England were outclassed in this phase with the likes of India, South Africa and New Zealand getting the better of them. England failed to click as a unit leading to the string of losses in 2007.

T20 stats:

Having played 15 Twenty20 matches so far England could register only 6 wins, losing the remaining 9 matches. They have lost twice to Australia, West Indies and South Africa.

Strengths:

England have had a good outing in the recently concluded series against the West Indies with Ravi Bopara being a revelation. He has piled on the runs in both the tests and the ODIs against the West Indies and has also played a key role for the Punjab team during the IPL. England also have Owais Shah and Luke Wright, tailor made cricketers for the T20 format. To add to that, Kevin Pietersen's presence in the middle can put fear in any bowler. The middle order features quality all-rounders with the captain Collingwood, Mascarenhas and Graham Napier in the team while the bowling department has the in-form Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson who can trouble any opposition in the English conditions which is ideal for their style of bowling.

Weaknesses:

The main weakness of the English team has been their inability to handle pressure. Although they are a team of tough competitors, they tend to crumble in crucial situations. Also, England's main match winner Kevin Pietersen has not been in good form and so is the situation with Mascarenhas. Though the pair had some T20 practice during the IPL, their show in the tournament was not up to the mark. To add to this, Flintoff is out of the team due to an injury, leaving the England middle order in a dicey position. The English team also have problems in their bowling line-up with likes of Anderson and Broad, who have a tendency to leak runs towards the end overs, enabling the opposition to reach a better position.

Opportunities:

England is placed in Group B along with Pakistan and Netherlands. With an in-experienced line-up such as Netherlands and a rusty Pakistan team who have not had played much cricket apart from their recent series against Australia, England have the ideal opportunity to make a mark in the first phase of the tournament.

Threats:

Although England have a good eleven on the paper, the team is known to give away games from winning positions. There have also been instances when the England team have become complacent after a victory.

Squad:

Paul Collingwood (c), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, James Foster (wk), Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright

Trivia:

Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen put on 100 runs for the 4th wicket against Zimbabwe which is the highest partnership for Eng in T20 World cup history.

Matt Prior and Adam Gilchrist took 4 catches each against South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively which is the most taken by a wicketkeeper in T20 World cup history.

The most runs scored in a single match in Twenty20 internationals is 418 - this was from the England-India match in the T20 World cup 2007.