T20 World Cup 2021, England cricket team: Strengths & Weaknesses of ENG's WC squad

With few days to go for the T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 stage, England Cricket Team registered a heavy defeat against India in their warm-up match on Monday, October 18. The World Number 1 T20 Team (England) is one of the top contenders of the T20 World Cup 2021 courtesy of their brilliant batting line-up and all-rounders. However, alarm bells rang during the warm-up match against India on Monday as England struggled to take wickets in the middle overs and ended on a losing side.

With few days to go before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 super 12 stages, here are the strengths and weaknesses of the England Cricket Team.

England's strengths

England's strengths lie in their explosive and deep batting line-up. The number 1 T20 batter of the world Dawid Malan is part of England's World Cup squad. Malan during his short stay looked solid against India and also played some marvelous shots, especially against spinners. The presence of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, and Jonny Bairstow can destroy any bowling line-up on their day. Apart from the '3 Js', Moeen Ali is currently in sublime touch. In fact, Moeen Ali shined in the IPL 2021 for the CSK as skipper MS Dhoni brought the best out of him by sending him to bat at number 3. Even during the warm-up match against India on Monday, Moeen Ali played an unbeaten knock of 43 runs off just 20 balls and pushed England's target to a competitive total. 

England's weakness

While England's strengths lie in their deep batting line-up and all-rounder, their weakness resides in the absence of slow bowlers and spinners. Despite cricket experts suggesting the UAE pitches will favour the spinners, England has chosen only one full-time spinner- Adil Rashid. However, Adil Rashid's performance in the UAE has not been up to the mark. Rashid played only one match in UAE leg of IPL 2021 and gave away 35 runs in 4 overs and did not pick any wicket. Again, Rashid proved costly against India in the warm-up match as he gave away 36 runs in 3 overs. 

Apart from the leg-spinner, skipper Eoin Morgan's form is also a concern for England. Eoin Morgan was widely criticised for his batting performance by the cricket experts and fans on social media. Morgan played 17 matches in the IPL 2021 and only scored 133 runs with an average of 11.08. The English skipper did not play the warm-up match against India on Monday. 

England's Squad for T20 World Cup

England Squad: Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Reserves: Liam Dawson, James Vince, Reece Topley 

Image: AP