England's Bazballers Ready for T20 WC Spin Test Under Brook's Captaincy

Following a dismal white-ball run which started from 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup to 2025 ICC Champions Trophy under Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, England's T20I side has witnessed a remarkable turnaround following Brook's appointment to white-ball captaincy, with him and coach Brendon McCullum sprinkling the spicy 'Bazball' ingredients in a cricketing environment which is about sixes, strike rates and power-hitting more than ever.

-Team's performances after T20 World Cup 2024

After their semifinal surrender to India back in 2024 against spin, England has played 25 T20Is, winning 15, losing seven and three ending in a no result.

Series-wise breakdown: Since the last WC, England have taken part in eight bilateral series, winning five, losing one and drawing two.

Here's how each series has gone for England after T20 WC 2024: 1-1 series draw against Australia at home (September 2024), 3-1 series win in West Indies (November 2024, includes a no result), 1-4 series loss against India away from home (Jan-Feb 2025), 3-0 series win against West Indies at home (June 2025), 1-1 series draw against South Africa at home (September 2025), 2-0 series win against Ireland away from home (September 2025) 1-0 series win against NZ away from home (October 2025, including two no results) and 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka (January 2026)

-Top performers for England after last T20 WC:

*Phil Salt: 702 runs in 21 matches and 19 innings at an average of 41.29, with an SR of 168.34, including two centuries and four fifties.

*Jos Buttler: 686 runs in 23 matches and 21 innings at an average of 32.66, with a strike rate of 161.03 and four fifties.

*Jacob Bethell: 417 runs in 23 matches and 21 innings at an average of 26.06, with a strike rate of over 148, including two fifties. Eight wickets at an average of 15.25, with four-fer, ER of 8.41.

*Adil Rashid: 30 wickets in 23 matches at an average of 20.1 and a four-fer, ER of 8.04.

*Liam Dawson: 16 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 19.93 and a four-fer to his name, ER of 8.35.

*Jamie Overton: 17 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 19.23, with best figures of 3/20.

-Positives for England:

*Salt's form: The right-handed opener has been unstoppable for England, having cracked the highest T20I score for England in a match against South Africa. The explosive hitter has also been racking up runs in franchise cricket, being instrumental in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) maiden IPL title win and dominating in other competitions as well.

*Harry's inspiring leadership: Since the young Yorkshire star took over in June 2025, England have won all their bilateral series and won 10 out of their 11 games. Be at absolute belter wickets at home or even at turning tracks of Sri Lanka, England have been dominant, grinding out victories even when circumstances looked bleak, such as unleashing a spin choke on SL while defending 129 in the final T20I before the WC and winning the game by 12 runs.

*The rise of Jacob Bethell: The 'Starboy' as he is called has been of immense value since his all-format debut back in 2024. His versatility with the bat, ability to switch gears plus his useful spin bowling make him an asset.

*A potent spin attack: A 17-year-old veteran, Adil Rashid, one of England's finest spin masterminds, leads the spin attack with full authority and powerful performances even as he nears 38 years of age. Under him as Bethell, Liam Dawson, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed. All of these are match-winners with the ball on a given day and they get a thousand times stronger with Adil as their guiding light. Their spin bowling average of 19.82 since last T20 WC is amongst the best in the world.

*Powerful strike rate: Their batting strike rate of 151.53 overall is second-best to India (156.03) among Test nations.

*Harry Brook's improvement against spin: Harry Brook's game against spin has always been a topic of trolling, with the Indian spinners outclassing him plenty of times in limited overs cricket last year. But this year against SL, he racked up 171 runs against spin at an average of 85.5 and a SR of 116.2, dismissed only twice in six innings, marking a positive change in this brief sample size, which he would like to stretch till the end of the tournament.

-Negatives for England:

*A weaker fast bowling attack: While a newly-included Josh Tongue could be an ex-factor, only Jofra Archer looks a legitimate threat in this pace bowling attack alongside Tongue, Jamie Overton, Sam Curran and Luke Wood. While Overton has the wickets to make his case, the express pace of Archer is an advantage.

*Duckett needs a break: In their bid to establish Ben Duckett as a premier all-format opener, England might have overplayed him and it reflects in his numbers. While the SR of over 166 is still there, his average of 23.5 and 212 runs in nine innings, out of which 135 runs came in two innings and this run has five single-digit scores.

England T20 WC squad: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.

- ANI