The 2021 T20 World Cup is less than two months away and preparations are stepping up for the event that is scheduled to be held in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Worryingly, the English cricket team is in an almighty slump that hasn’t been seen since before the 2015 ODI World Cup. The nation’s Test form has been on a steady decline over the last eight months and it’s unclear how the powers that be will arrest the slide given that the Ashes is just four months away.
Alarmingly, punters who bet on cricket regularly will know that the Three Lions have been priced at long odds of 7/2 to beat Australia over the course of five Test matches. In that sense, you would expect Chris Silverwood and his team to be low on confidence going into the World Cup in the Middle East, but surprisingly, that couldn’t be further from the case given how prolific England are in the T20 format.
Indeed, the latest cricket betting tips predict that England could truly go all the way in the T20 World Cup tournament. In reality, it’s no surprise that the Three Lions are tipped as heavily as they are when you consider they are the number one ranked T20 side in the world and have the know-how on how to win this event having done so in 2010.
That’s how you win a game
A fantastic performance from the lads to seal the series!#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/yyaQAHSdWB
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2020
It should be said that there wasn’t the same level of anticipation going into that World Cup in the Caribbean as there is now: at the time, England were underachieving and considered to be playing a brand of cricket that was behind the times, however, thanks to Kevin Pietersen’s starring role, the Three Lions swept away the opposition to win their first-ever T20 World Cup.
#OnThisDay 10 years ago, England lifted their first men’s ICC trophy
Kieswetter and Pietersen added 111 for the second wicket in chase of Australia’s 147/6, as the Paul Collingwood-led side won the 2010 #T20WorldCup by seven wickets pic.twitter.com/Q3IWTvoNeE
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) May 16, 2020
It’s now 11 years on from that momentous day in Barbados and England are far from a one-man team. In fact, they’re ultimately a much more balanced side these days. The ECB have been incredibly shrewd in terms of how they’ve built this T20 side given that they have virtually put 11 match-winners in the starting XI. Furthermore, to say that this team has enjoyed good success over the last three years would be downplaying it to an unforgivable degree when you consider that England have won ten of the last 13 T20 series’ they’ve played in. In fact, only India has managed to beat England in a T20 series since 2018.
In truth, England have dominated the rest of the world on the T20 circuit and are in an incredibly strong position going into this World Cup in the Middle East. It’s admittedly quite strange that there’s such a stark contrast between England’s form in the Test arena and their dominance in the T20 format, with one team predicted to have a torrid 2021 while the other is forecast to become world champions again. In reality, it all comes down to planning and preparation and the fact of the matter is that the ECB have put a lot more time and energy into making England T20 world-beaters.
The results should show again when this extraordinary team touches down in Oman and the United Arab Emirates for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
