Insisting on Alex Hales’ recall, going harder with the ball in middle overs and embracing risk even more put side on path to victory
Sunday’s victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground marks the culmination of three years of England thinking about how to win a Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. In the weeks after the 2019 ODI World Cup, England’s management turned their attention to this question, ahead of the next global event – at that time, scheduled to be the T20 World Cup Down Under in October 2020.
Yet perhaps the greatest step towards putting England on the path to lifting their second T20 World Cup had already happened. By the home summer in 2018, England were reshaping 50-over cricket. But, despite coming agonisingly close to winning the T20 World Cup in 2016, England’s T20 record had been modest; the side was only ranked fifth.
The discrepancy between England’s T20 and ODI performances was a curiosity. Ostensibly, England’s explosive hitting was even better-suited to the shorter game.
On May 2, 2018, it rained in Delhi. These showers led to a shortened Indian Premier League game. Rajasthan Royals – at the insistence of their team mentor, Shane Warne – promoted their most explosive batsman to open: Jos Buttler. He struck 67 from 26 balls, and stayed as opener, scoring five consecutive 50s.