T20 World Cup: England must improve to have any chance of repeating previous World Cup successes

Harry Brook’s laugh as he began his post-match press conference said plenty.

«We haven’t quite made it as easy as we would have liked so far,» the relieved England captain said.

After three games at this T20 World Cup, England have escaped against Nepal, been thrashed by West Indies and now come through a nervy win against Scotland.

Beat Italy on Monday and they will be through to the Super 8s.

From there, two wins from three, one of which could be against Zimbabwe, would be enough to reach a World Cup semi-final. Reach that point and anything can happen, or so they say.

England have, of course, also been here before.

They have won three World Cups, two in the 20-over format and the 50-over competition in 2019, and on each occasion they lost at least once before going on to lift the trophy.

Across the nine previous men’s T20 World Cups, only once, India last time around in 2024, has a team gone through the tournament unbeaten.

A defeat at this stage, or an unconvincing performance like the one put in on Saturday in Kolkata, does not decide the eventual outcome.

India were 77-6 against the United States, Australia were beaten by Zimbabwe and the much-fancied South Africa almost chucked away a winning position against Afghanistan in a tournament that has been more competitive from the start than any of its previous iterations.

But that does not mean poor performances can simply be ignored.

Yes, reach your peak at the right time.

You still have to show you are capable of reaching the top when tackling the foothills.

Opener Phil Salt said on Friday «nobody can live with» England when «we are at our best» but they remain a long way from it.

This five-wicket victory margin, sealed with 10 balls to spare, suggested a more comfortable afternoon than England had in reality.

Again there was jeopardy – Jos Buttler failing to reach 40 for the eighth time for England this year, Salt offering too much famine amid the feast, an uncertainty among batters when the ball moves and, most worryingly, another refusal to learn while the game is in its flow.

Eight of Scotland’s 10 wickets fell as batters attempted to sweep, pull or heave the ball into the leg side. Having watched that, Jacob Bethell, Brook and Sam Curran took it upon themselves to ensure more catching practice was offered.

It is no surprise Tom Banton, who missed with a sweep early on and then put the shot away entirely, went on to be England’s highest scorer and match-winner.

Banton’s knock was a breakthrough moment for a batter who, having been handed a debut aged 20 in 2019, had only made four fifties across his 36 previous innings.

Here he looked far more mature than he did back on that tour of New Zealand, or the home summer that followed and his success pushes away any doubts over the make-up of the top order.

Ben Duckett’s route into the XI appears to have been blocked.

There have been other positives for England over the past week in India.

Jofra Archer was more threatening, more accurate, against Scotland after conceding 90 runs combined against Nepal and West Indies.

Having rehired fielding coach Carl Hopkinson after the whoopsies spread through the squad during the Ashes, England’s catching has also been immaculate and Curran, this dismissal aside, has proven dependable in crucial moments.

But still England are clinging to the hope that something will eventually click, that something will simply fall into place and provide them with their first complete performance of the competition.

It may come – possibly, should they beat Italy, on a flight back to the comfort of Sri Lanka where they won 3-0 before this trip – but right now England do not seem entirely clear where to look.

«I don’t know,» said Brook, asked why his side have not found their groove. «Things haven’t seemed to have clicked so far yet.»

He said what we can all see.

Brook was part of England’s squads at the 2022 and 2024 World Cups, which both began badly before turning in differing directions.

In 2022, England lost to Ireland but responded by comprehensively beating a New Zealand side that just thrashed hosts Australia by 89 runs.

England need a similar performance soon to reboot their tournament because right now it feels more akin to their efforts in 2024, when their only wins came against Oman, Namibia, the United States and West Indies.

England reached the semi-finals on that trip around the Caribbean but were beaten each time they faced the real contenders – Australia, South Africa and India.

In truth, the spark from England’s white-ball sides has been absent going back much further, ever since that night in Melbourne in November 2022.

It was absent at the 2023 World Cup, in the Caribbean in 2024 and at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan last year when the hiring of Brendon McCullum as white-ball coach failed to raise them from their slump and they left without winning a match.

Brook says it is the «belief» in the squad that makes him confident this tournament would be more like 2022 than 2024.

«We’ve been in this situation before where we have lost a game early and World Cups aren’t always smooth sailing,» he said.

Outside of the dressing room, that belief is waning.

If Brook cannot find it then coach McCullum must because an underwhelming run to the semi-finals did not save former coach Matthew Mott his job in 2024.

Salt thinks England can beat anyone on their day and it is time for them to pinpoint a date in the calendar.

Most of sport’s successful teams have had an arrogant streak. Crucially, though, it needs to be earned.

The Scotland win ensured they remain alive but England have no chance of winning this World Cup if they do not improve.