England told to be 'brave' as T20 World Cup hots up

By Sky Sports Cricket Desk

Pallekele—England begin their Super 8s campaign here on Sunday with captain Harry Brook demanding a fearless brand of cricket after a group phase in which the defending champions flirted with elimination.

A last-over escape against Nepal and a nervy 24-run win over tournament debutants Italy sandwiched a defeat to West Indies and a laboured victory against Scotland, leaving Moeen Ali to conclude the side have looked “a bit tentative, with bat and ball.”

Brook, whose side face Sri Lanka at 9.30am UK time live on Sky Sports, acknowledged England had “probably underestimated a few of the sides” but insisted the squad views the knockout stage as “a fresh start.”

“We can be a bit braver in certain situations,” Brook said on the eve of a contest played on the same ground where England swept Sri Lanka 3-0 in a bilateral series earlier this month. That sequence extended England’s T20 supremacy over the island nation to 11 straight wins, the last Sri Lankan success dating back to 2014 at The Kia Oval.

Yet Brook warned against complacency, pointing to Pathum Nissanka’s scintillating form. The opener blazed a 52-ball hundred—10 fours, five sixes—to propel Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket rout of Australia last Monday and followed up with 62 against Zimbabwe.

“If we can get him out early it would be ideal,” Brook said, “but if we play our best cricket there is no reason we can’t beat them.”

Conditions may help: after four group games in India, England return to Sri Lankan pitches that should offer more purchase for spinners Adil Rashid and Jacob Bethell, whose left-arm varieties claimed 4-11 in the final warm-up match against these same opponents. Bethell is unlikely to bowl on Sunday after sustaining a cut finger, but Sky Sports analyst Nick Knight believes the shift in venue is “a godsend” for an attack that “relies so heavily on Rashid and Jofra Archer.”

The batting, however, still hinges on Jos Buttler’s revival. The opener has managed only 26, 21, three and three at the tournament and has not registered an international half-century since September. Moeen, a long-time team-mate, has urged the captain to “play the situation” rather than shoulder excess pressure.

Buttler has vowed not to rein in his aggression, an approach Brook wants mirrored throughout the line-up. “We have been too careful at times,” the skipper admitted. “We can look to put teams under pressure, especially with the batting depth we have got.”

England’s remaining Super 8 fixtures—Pakistan on Tuesday in Pallekele and New Zealand in Colombo next Friday—leave no margin for error if they are to push for a third T20 world title. The forecast rain around Sunday’s toss could yet complicate matters, but Brook’s message is clear: the time for caution is over.

As the tournament hots up, England’s campaign, in the skipper’s words, “starts now.”

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