The T20 series of 2022

England - T20 World Cup Ultimate Tournament Guide

Oct. 21, 2022

Depth Chart

Predicted Playing XI: J Buttler (c &wk), A Hales, D Malan, B Stokes, L Livingstone, M Ali, H Brook, S Curran, D Willey, A Rashid, M Wood Spot backups: C Jordan, C Woakes Injury backups: P Salt, T Mills According to the latest Daily Mail report, England appears to have decided to take a batting-heavy approach in this World Cup, with both Harry Brook and the fit-again Liam Livingstone in the starting XI. This is one of the most significant developments in the context of the tournament because leaving Brook out for an extra bowler would have severely weakened the team's batting without bringing in a noticeable improvement in the bowling unit. This is not to say that the England team is flawless. They're a long way from it, and if Mark Wood has a bad day and the deck doesn't suit spin, the bowling unit can be taken to the cleaners. But in the absence of Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, and Richard Gleeson, three of their best or most in-form specialist bowling options, their biggest chance of winning the World Cup is to bat better, bat deep, and hope their bowling unit gets fortunate in the knockouts. The other option would have resulted in England having Moeen Ali and Sam Curran at Nos. 6 and 7, two batters with direct death counters in raw pace and bounce. It is much easier to plan against that batting unit with Ben Stokes at 4 and an extremely LHB-heavy middle order. However, the addition of both Brook and Livingstone to their middle order now adds more variety and depth to their batting unit as a whole. Brook will assist in breaking the off-spin trap, while Livingstone can smash pace and bounce to complement the full and good-length power-hitting prowess of Ali and Curran. They also get an extra batter with David Willey replacing Reece Topley, putting even more pressure on opposing bowling units to execute their bowling plans. As the Matchups that Matter section shows, the depth is not position-appropriate. Ali, Curran, and Willey all have significant weaknesses in handling certain phases and aspects of pace, but that would only come into play if the bowling units have the resources to exploit it and then get their plans spot on.

Team Rating – 6.7/10

BATTING Batting Quality - 0.8 Batting Depth - 1 Complementary Openers - 0.8 Spin Hitting - 0.5 Pace Hitting - 0. 7 BOWLING New Ball Pace - 0.4 Express Pace & HTD - 0.5 Death Bowling - 0.5 Bowling Depth - 0.7 Spin (Quality & Complementary) - 0.8 TOTAL - 6.7/10 As previously stated, you can target England's bowling unit. While their spin trio of Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone provides them with enough spin options to work with against all batting types in Overs 7-16, they are very traditional and there is no unorthodoxy associated with any of the three in play, making it easier for batters to take them down on Australia's true batting decks. With only David Willey and Mark Wood to rely on for new ball and express pace, they also lag significantly in the new ball and raw pace categories. When it comes to the batting unit, they are the only team in the tournament to get a perfect score for batting depth. Although England's batting unit lacks exceptional batting options against spin, the fact that they alternate between right and left throughout the order and have the right intent makes it difficult to target any of their batters effectively.

Rating Scale Explainer

BATTING Batting Quality - A match-winner each in the top (No.1-2), middle (No.3-4) and lower-middle order (No.5-7) Batting Depth - A minimum of 8 batting options Complementary openers - Opening pair to be complemented by both hand and type Spin Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs spin in the middle order (No.3-5) Pace Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs pace by lower middle order (No.5-7) BOWLING New ball Pace - At least 20 balls of quality seam and swing bowling ability up front Express Pace and HTD - At least 20 hit-the-deck balls at 140+kph between Overs 7 and 16 Death Bowling - A well-balanced blend of yorkers, slow balls, and hard length at a pace ranging from 17 to 20 overs. Bowling Depth - At least six 4-over options Spin (Quality & Complementary) - Both away-spin (SLA/wrist-spin) and in-spin (off-spin); Quality - Self explanatory

Fantasy Board

Rank 1-11: J Buttler, D Malan, S Curran, A Hales, M Wood, L Livingstone, M Ali, B Stokes, A Rashid, D Willey, H Brook With Sam Curran now part of the four-man specialist bowling unit, his bowling fantasy potential has increased significantly because England will likely rely heavily on him at the death, and he is also in form. With the bat, he will not be as useful as he would have been in the batting all-rounder setup, as he has been pushed down to No.8 now. Alex Hales may have gotten out for a few low scores in the buildup to the tournament, but he is in good form and has plenty of experience playing in Australia, so don't underestimate his ability to destroy average bowling attacks. Dawid Malan's less risky batting style, however, beats him and propels the left-hander up the rankings. Liam Livingstone would normally be higher up the order, but with his return from injury and the likely loss of some of his batting time to Harry Brook, he is bumped down to No.5. Livingstone's return also jeopardises Moeen's fantasy potential, as England will prefer the 29-year-old, who can bowl both off-spin and legspin, over Moeen when there aren't two left-handers at the crease. Apart from lessening each other's value, the combination of Livingstone and Moeen completely destroys Harry Brook's fantasy potential, as the youngster is likely to lose a lot of batting time to both of these batters. Mark Wood should have a fantastic tournament if England is to win or even make the final. The decks here are tailored to his bowling style, and as a Fantasy Cheat Sheet section shows, his WTPM of 1.42 is already the best in the squad even without any of this help. Consider what Wood could do with the pace and bounce available on the majority of World Cup decks. Top Pick(s): J Buttler Top Budget Pick(s): Mark Wood, Sam Curran Top Differential(s): Mark Wood, Sam Curran Steal(s): Mark Wood

Fantasy Cheat Sheet

It is simple: if you are not in the world of House of the Dragon, then the colour green is your friend. So whether it's season or daily fantasy, go with the player who has the most greens. Form - Based on player performance in the 10 games leading up to the World Cup. All stats since 2021 Sheet Key M - Matches Played BF - Balls Faced BFPM - Balls Faced Per Match Runs - Runs Scored RSPM - Runs Scored Per Match Bat SR - Batting Strike Rate Overs - Overs Bowled OBPM - Overs Bowled Per Match Wickets - Wickets Taken WTPM - Wickets Taken Per Match Bowl SR - Bowling Strike Rate ER - Economy Rate C - Catches

Matchups that Matter

Green – Good; Yellow – Average; Red – Poor It is extremely difficult to get the England opening duo with pace unless there is substantial new ball movement. They are skillful against both right and left-arm pace. Therefore, in true batting conditions, expect opponents to bring in a slow left-arm spinner soon. As can be seen by the fact that none of the top five has a red marker attached to them in the express pace section, England's top five are also among the best in the tournament when it comes to accelerating against raw pace and bounce, which is one of the primary requirements to do well in a limited overs tournament in Australia. As you move down the order, you'll notice that there are more yellows and reds than greens. But, as previously stated, this is where England's batting depth and general batting intent will come in handy. In terms of bowling, England is one of the few teams in the tournament with enough quality options to counter left-handers, with threats running from the new ball through to the middle.

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England - T20 World Cup Ultimate Tournament Guide

Depth Chart

Team Rating – 6.7/10

Rating Scale Explainer

Fantasy Board

Fantasy Cheat Sheet

Matchups that Matter

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