What next for England after T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi? | Fusion - WeRIndia

It is always going to be tough to lose a World Cup semi-final when you’re the top-ranked T20 international team in the world, the defending 50-over champions.

Eoin Morgan’s England team has set record-breaking standards, so this campaign will not be viewed as a massive achievement. The skipper admitted his men were “devastated” following their loss to the Black Caps in Abu Dhabi – but it will also not be viewed as a failure.

This is England’s fourth consecutive ICC white-ball semi-final appearance. They did so without dependables Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, and death-over specialist Tymal Mills, who all carried injuries before or during the tournament.

Morgan described reaching the final as “one hell of an achievement” Reaching the semi-finals was a great achievement.

England does not necessarily need an overhaul as they did following the 2015 World Cup disaster.

With a few modest tactical modifications and the return of a few important players, England could be right in the mix, if not favourites, for the next T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia next year.

Morgan’s team performed well, and so much went right for them during the World Cup. Their win against Pakistan was remarkable, and it had all cricket betting odds in favour of England for the title.

They took 15 powerplay wickets throughout their six games. The capacity to adapt, as seen by Moeen Ali’s use of the new ball in some games and Jos Buttler’s brilliant century against Sri Lanka on a sticky wicket. With the bat, Buttler has put on blistering performances, as seen by how he decimated Australia and concluded his innings against Sri Lanka.

Their fielding was generally excellent as well.

But, as Nasser Hussain pointed out after the team’s loss to New Zealand, their death bowling cannot be said to be the best.  They would have gone all the way to the finals if it was.

There were some red flags during England’s Super 12 victory against Australia when Aaron Finch’s team scored 50 runs in the final four overs, but it didn’t cost them, as Australia were only bowled out for 125 runs and Buttler tonked his side beyond that target with 50 balls to spare.

However, it did cost England a 10-run loss against South Africa, as the Proteas’ Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram smashed 71 runs off their final five overs, punishing Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, and Mark Wood when they all failed to hit their targets.

New Zealand then smashed 57 runs off the final 18 deliveries in the semis to win despite having an over to spare.

Jordan’s 17th over, which was wide and boundary-infested, went for 23 runs thanks to his inaccurate deliveries and Jimmy Neesham hitting him for two sixes and a four. Neesham and Daryl Mitchell hit a six as Adil Rashid’s 18th ran for 14 runs. Mitchell hammered sixes and then a remarkable four off a full toss as Chris Woakes’ 19th went for 20.

The return of Archer and Mills, arguably England’s best death bowlers, could ease those back-over woes in Australia next year. Things could have gone quite differently if they were available in Abu Dhabi.

After missing the current one, Stokes is expected to play in the next T20 World Cup to focus on his mental health and the recovery of a finger injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League in the spring.

It has already been confirmed that the England all-rounder will be returning for the Ashes later this year, but what could this mean for England’s current top six now that he’ll be back in the T20 side?

Buttler isn’t going anywhere, and neither are fellow white-ball veterans Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, despite the latter’s rather quiet World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The skipper claims he, too, wants to stay.

Morgan’s recent run of scores has not been convincing, and people will be made to feel he kept his place due to his position as captain.  But he is a fantastic captain who has changed England’s white-ball approach and is possibly the finest in the world. It’s unlikely that he’ll leave anytime soon.

Also, good luck getting Liam Livingstone to leave his side. With his ability to smack the ball out of the park – he produced an England-record 42-ball century against Pakistan in the last edition – the Lancashire man has virtually established himself as a regular. In the field, he’s also a force to be reckoned with.

In reality, it was Livingstone’s bowling that helped England the most. He was immense in the middle overs, taking six wickets from 15 overs at a limited rate of under six. He managed to bowl his whole four overs thrice, including three versus Bangladesh, spinning the ball away from the right and left-handers.

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