The month of June is packed with sporting action. England’s cricketers will be playing but not on home soil. They’ll be in the West Indies trying to retain their T20 World Cup title. Can the 4/1 second favourites return home with the trophy?
If they can, then England will become the first country to ever retain the T20 World Cup. This is the ninth time this exciting tournament has been held. It’s been won by six different countries with only England and the West Indies winning it twice. This year’s tournament begins on June 1 with the final taking place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29.
The last T20 World Cup was held in Australia in 2022. England beat Pakistan in the final to win the trophy for the second time. The other success came back in 2010 when beating Australia to win the final.
This 2024 tournament sees a first with one of the two co-hosts being the USA who are 750/1 to become world champions. It’s the debut for the Americans in the finals of a major cricket tournament. Never before has the host nation won the T20 World Cup and they’re unlikely to end that statistic.
It’s a big step ahead for cricket in the USA though and just getting into the Super 8s would be an achievement. The mere fact that they have to play both India (the current 3/1 title favourites) and Pakistan means a top-two finish would be a massive shock.
England won’t be playing in the USA in this tournament. All their games will be taking place in the West Indies.
This is the largest ever T20 World Cup with 20 countries taking part. The nature of this quickfire version of the game makes this an open tournament. The hit and hope style and innovative shots will make this an exciting four weeks of cricket.
England will be hoping to reach a third T20 World Cup final. In addition to the two times they have lifted the trophy, they were also the losing finalists in 2016. That year saw them lose to the West Indies. It’s 16/1 we see those two countries battle it out in the final in June 2024.
England have been drawn into Group B and it’s not the toughest of groups. They’ll be facing Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman. The English side are at odds 1/1 to win the group with Australia the 10/11 favourites if to believe these sites in the UK.
To show how much this group is likely to be dominated by England and Australia, third in the betting are Namibia at 55/1. It’s 80/1 that Scotland win the group and that looks very unlikely.
It’s against Scotland on June 4 that England begins the defence of their T20 World Cup title. The match takes place in Barbados and should result in a comfortable England win. Scotland won all six of their qualifying matches and did beat Ireland but this is going to be a tough tournament for them.
A 15-man provisional squad has been named by England for this tournament. Ten of those named were part of the squad that won the trophy in 2022. Notable omissions include Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes but they have still named a very strong line-up.
One big return for England is that of fast bowler Jofra Archer who will be at home on the fast West Indian pitches. The hope will be that Archer can take a few vital wickets but above all stay fit.
Spin bowling is so important in T20 cricket with some sides even opening their bowling with them. Bamboozling the batter and taking vital wickets is the aim. Tom Hartley was impressive during the winter when making his test debut in India. Now he’s given his first chance to do well for England at T20 cricket.
England do have a strong bowling line-up for this tournament. It’s not just Jofra Archer who will appreciate the fast pitches. Mark Wood, Sam Curran and Chris Jordan will all prove a handful for their opponents. Jordan in particular is a bowler that no batter likes facing in the final overs of an innings. There’s more spin from Adil Rashid, Will Jacks and Moeen Ali.
In terms of the batting line-up, England have a selection of players that are at home playing this shorter version of the game. Joss Buttler is the captain and he’s joined by big-hitters such as Johnny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett, Chris Salt and Liam Livingstone.
England have a strong squad and hopefully will avoid any injuries during the tournament. Becoming the first country to win successive T20 World Cups is a possibility.
