Opinion How England won the ICC T20 World Cup

It says something about this England white-ball team, which won the 2019 ODI world cup and made the knockouts in T20 world cups, that they were feeling a bit angsty at the start of this T20 world cup. Two things irked them: How would they handle the post-Morgan era, as it was the Irishman Eoin Morgan who had stunningly turned around a nation which used to almost look down on white ball cricket, calling it the pyjama game. Secondly, the admiration for their aggressive game was well-deserved but what’s the use without a T20 trophy in the cabinet? Mind you, right now, their Test team is also an object of awe worldwide, with its attacking cricket under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

To offset the angst, they made two curious moves. Instead of McCullum, who seemed almost a natural fit for T20, they opted for Matthew Mott, a specialist T20 coach who had done the job with the women’s team. Then, instead of Ben Stokes, they picked Jos Buttler for captaincy. The message from Buttler and Mott to the team was: Don’t be afraid to play ugly. England walked the talk.

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Alex Hales, an aggressive opener whose off-field behaviour had led to his ostracisation in the Morgan era and who had a falling out with Stokes, was brought back into the team after they lost Jonny Bairstow to an injury. Buttler then sat Stokes down for a chat to enunciate the role demanded of him in the T20 team. Mott and Buttler would trust Sam Curran, deploying him as an all-round bowler who did the work with the new ball. Unlike Morgan who would be wed to the pre-game plan, Buttler chose to be more flexible, reacting to situations, as Moeen Ali would attest. And they had Ben Stokes. Not only do big moments find him, but also, if there is one constant in English cricket, it is this: Stokes will be there till the end.