England are often accused of arrogance – the final will be played at the ‘Home of Cricket’ after all – but their confidence, for once, has not been misplaced.
Remember where this team was four years ago? Hopelessly outplayed and outscored in a tournament that marked a turning point for ODI cricket into the gung-ho brand we know and (mostly) love today.
It didn’t take long for England to play catch-up. A management team that saw fit to drop Ben Stokes ahead of that infamous World Cup was cast aside and, in the four years since, these one-day pioneers have made scoring more than 300 look like child’s play.
Unbeaten in their last 11 bilaterial ODI series and victories in 10 of them, the addition of a ready-made world-class fast bowler in Jofra Archer has strengthened a team full of cricketing cheat codes.
However, sure things do not exist, a fact the hosts hardly need reminding of after their feted batting line-up fatally came undone by Pakistan in the Champions Trophy two years ago. You’d nonetheless be brave to bet against them.
Record: Runners-up in 1979, 1987 and 1992.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Strength: Stuart Broad described England’s current top seven as the best in their entire history and while that’s hyperbolic, it certainly isn’t a crazy assessment. Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root start a sparkling batting order, while all-rounders Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are almost laughably luxurious options. The rest isn’t bad, either.
Weakness: It’s a hair-splitting exercise. The middle overs sometimes get away from the England bowling attack if it’s a particularly flat one, and Stokes’ form is worrying. More than anything it will be a test of mental character for a nation so heavily favoured this year, but yet to win a World Cup.
Player to watch: Archer. His fast-track into an already supremely successful England squad raised a few eyebrows, not least the resident bowlers. But his ‘trial’ during the Pakistan series has added another string to an England bow hardly short of them.
Surprise package: More of a forgotten package – Adil Rashid, which is strange to say given he has taken the most ODI wickets since the 2015 World Cup. Yet there is a feeling he has been in the shadows heading into the tournament, where deceptive leg-spinners should thrive against attack-minded teams.
Prediction: Winners.
