After weather forced the squad to postpone two of their three planned warm-up matches against Pakistan, fast bowler Mark Wood of England said that the team’s T20 World Cup preparations have been “not ideal”. This sad turn of events means that neither team is fully prepared for their final warm-up game on Thursday at The Oval, which is before they board planes to travel to the Caribbean the next day.
This stands in sharp contrast to England’s methodical preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. England honed their abilities in that year, first winning a seven-match series in Pakistan and then winning three games against Australia’s hosts, including one in Perth, where they also played their first World Cup match. With a second match against Pakistan, they concluded their preparation. With this lengthy 11-game warm-up schedule, England was able to settle in and sort out any issues well in advance of the competition. They succeeded in raising the trophy, demonstrating the value of their careful planning.
According to Wood, “certain boys who have been participating in the Indian Premier League are prepared for a game. Is there a freshness among the boys who haven’t? Since you play in the IPL often, other boys have seen your antics and what you’re capable of.”
“I may have a fresh mindset heading into the event. You want the games to practice things that you’ve worked on in training, but there’s a delicate balance. We’ll have to use the preparation we have, even though one or two of us might feel like we need a game or two to get going. There were many games played before the most recent World Cup, but who’s to say it won’t happen the other way around?”
The coach, Matthew Mott, who was absent from the first game at Headingley owing to family obligations, and the captain, Jos Buttler, who missed the equally washed-out third game to witness the birth of his third child, have further complicated matters.
“Life matters can often take precedence over cricket. “Those two cases were,” Wood stated. “We shouldn’t paint them in a bad light, in my opinion. Searching for reasons is simple: there have been absences, it’s raining, etc. We have everything we need since we are a professional team, the England cricket squad. It should be possible for us to adjust, and the right moment to do so is while we’re outside.”
