Michael Vaughan spoke about England’s performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 after the Jos Buttler-led side barely qualified for the Super 8s stage. This happened thanks to Australia defeating Scotland in their final group B stage match.
The England cricket team qualified for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 from Group B with five points and a net run rate (NRR) of +3.611. Michael Vaughan stated that the England squad has not played particularly well and highlighted worries about their fielding in previous World Cup matches.
Michael Vaughan was overjoyed at left-arm bowler Reece Topley’s return to the team for the previous encounter. Vaughan expressed astonishment that Topley was not included in the starting eleven for the first two games.
“They haven’t played great cricket. I do have a lot of concerns about England’s white-ball team. I don’t think they field like they used to. I don’t think they’ve got any electricity in the field. They’re making quite a few mistakes in the field. I’m delighted that Reece Topley is back. I staggered in the first two games that Reece Topley wasn’t in the XI,” Michael Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
England’s campaign began with a flop against Scotland. They lost by 36 runs to Australia. However, they responded forcefully by dismissing Oman for 47 runs and chasing it down in 3.1 overs.
They increased their net run rate from -1.8 to +3.08 to qualify for the Super 8s.
England have to look back at their performance in the last T20 World Cup edition: Michael Vaughan
Speaking further on the matter, Vaughan urged the England team to take inspiration from their outing in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Vaughan suggested that others would prefer to avoid facing them in the semifinals or finals due to their fearless approach.
“England only have to look back to the last T20 World Cup. They had a similar thing; they lost to Ireland. They were scratchy getting over the line against Sri Lanka in Sydney. The one thing I say about England when it gets to the stage of must-win games, I think they’ve got a great mentality. They won’t be scared of big games. You look at Josh Hazlewood’s comments just the other day, and I’m sure they were tongue-in-cheek. But if you said to the rest of the world who you don’t want to face in a semi-final or final, I think England are near the top of that list because they play with a fearless approach,” Vaughan added.
England has been placed in Group 2 in the Super 8 stage along with West Indies, South Africa, and the USA. Their next encounter will be against the West Indies on Wednesday, June 19, at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.
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