Team Analysis for the Women's T20I World Cup 2023: England

Sciver is England's key player [Twitter]

The wait is almost over as the much-anticipated Women's T20 World Cup is just around the corner. So, as the mega event comes nearby, let us dwell more into the teams and find out their strengths, weaknesses and threats they face.

We have already talked about Pakistan's SWOT Analysis, and today we'll focus on the Heather Knight-led, England team.

History

One of the tournament favourites alongside Australia and India, England have been a part of the T20 World Cup since its inaugural edition in 2009. Interestingly, the first edition of the women's T20 World Cup was hosted in England and they triumphed over New Zealand to clinch the trophy.

Source: OneCricket

Post 2009, they have finished as the runners-up thrice, and the coveted trophy has eluded them. In the last edition of the T20 World Cup held in Australia, England managed to reach the quarters but were knocked out by India.

Now moving ahead, let us take a look at the England squad for the upcoming World Cup.

England T20I World Cup squad

 Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.

If we look at the type of players we will get:

(Source: OneCricket)

Strengths

1. Quality bowling attack: Alongside Australia, England have one of the best attacks of the tournament. The variety that it possesses is almost unmatched. The squad has a world-class spinner in Sophie Ecclestone, who on her day can torment any batting lineup. In the pace department, there is ever-reliant Lauren Bell, Katherine Brunt and Freya Davies, who form a formidable trio.
2. The return of Nat Sciver: Sciver has been England's best white-ball player by a country mile. The dynamic batter carried her side to the 50-over finals last year, and when she took a break after the World Cup, England crumbled against India. But her return against the Windies brought the best of Sciver and England.

Weaknesses

1. Stuttering top-order: On paper, the England top-order looks a bit bleak. They do have big names in Heather Knight, and Dani Wyatt, but they have played well in bits and pieces as of late. They can't rely on Sciver to bail them out of tricky situations every time.
2. Failure to win big games: As of late, England have struggled to fail games from a winning spot. This happened quite a lot against India in the home season, and also in the Commonwealth Games. If England are to win the tournament, they need to snatch the crunch situations.

Opportunities

1. It's Capsey time: Touted as the future of England, the stage is all set for Capsey to take the mantle forward. So far, it has been a good journey for her. Capsey has 234 runs in 10 T20I games, at a strike rate of 127. The World Cup is a big stage, and the time has probably arrived for the young all-rounder to showcase her worth.

Threats

1. Top-order collapses: England's team is filled with a lot of talented players, but they are yet to showcase their real strengths. The likes of Dani Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, and Lauren Winfield-Hill have done well for their side, but have failed to live up to the hype in the big tournaments. For how long can they depend on Heather Knight or other batters? If England are to do well, these talented players need to step up, else, the World Cup is not coming home.

(Source: OneCricket)

Prediction

One of the contenders for the coveted trophy, England have almost all the bases covered, but might lack the cutting edge in big games. So, I expect them to reach the semi-finals at max.

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