T20 World Cup talking points as lacklustre England prepare for European showdowns 

The games keep coming thick and fast at the T20 World Cup as the first phase of the tournament begins to take shape.

The top-ranked sides are currently all in a strong position to advance, despite some hearty performances from the Associate nations on well-received surfaces that have provided a greater balance between bat and ball than is often seen in the run-fest IPL.

Whilst the wait for a major upset goes on, fans were treated to a record masterclass by the Kiwi top order and arguably one of the greatest T20I matches ever seen between Afghanistan and South Africa.

England’s defeat to the West Indies, meanwhile, coupled with Italy’s stunning take down of Nepal for a memorable maiden T20 World Cup triumph, has kept Group C wide open for a potential shock to develop.

There is also the small matter of India versus Pakistan on the way.

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Uninspiring England falter to ramp up pressure on Scotland clash

England are left with work to do in order to progress to the Super 8 stage after limping to a hugely disappointing 30-run defeat by West Indies in Mumbai.

In pursuit of 197, England flew out of the blocks, but the introduction of Roston Chase and Gukadesh Motie triggered a collapse from 74-1 to 166 all out as familiar woes against spin resurfaced.

England’s long batting line-up is constantly referenced, particularly whenever Jamie Overton gets the nod, yet the proof is in the pudding, and in truth, the target never really looked under threat once captain Harry Brook was dismissed in the 14th over.

The bowling has also flattered to deceive across both outings on a ground England have conceded their highest ODI total (399 by South Africa) and second-highest T20I total (247 by India) in recent years.

Adil Rashid responded superbly from a difficult start against Nepal, but Jofra Archer has been uncharacteristically leaky with combined figures of 2-90 from eight overs.

Matchday one hero Sam Curran also proved expensive against a West Indies side seemingly rolling back the years from their grip over England during the 2016 edition.

Feel-good factor subsides

The deserved admiration for Nepal’s seismic efforts in their first match were perhaps a distraction of what was an unconvincing performance, but given England’s history of slow starts at ICC global events, many will have just breathed a sigh of relief that they managed to hold their nerve and survive an almighty scare.

Had Nepal’s Lokesh Bam managed to clear the boundary off the final ball on Sunday, England would already be facing an unthinkable early exit.

Instead, they know that victories over Scotland and debutants Italy should be enough to secure a top two spot – the pre-tournament seeding of the Super 8 stage renders finishing first or second in the group immaterial.

However, England will need to do something they have never done before, which is overcome fellow European sides at the T20 World Cup (three defeats in 2009, 2014 and 2022), with rain arguably coming to their rescue against Saturday’s opponents when the two met in their opening group game in Barbados two years ago.

A feel-good factor from the Sri Lanka series whitewash has subsided, England once again find themselves in the pressure cooker with Brendon McCullum and others on a tightrope, knowing one more slip in Kolkata over the coming days would compound a winter to forget.

Afghanistan suffer more heartache as South Africa prevail in an all-time classic

When Afghanistan and South Africa faced off in the 2024 semi-final, it proved to be one of the competition’s most one-sided contests, but this time around, there was literally nothing to separate them.

In what will go down as one of the greatest finales to a T20I match ever witnessed, undeserving of the largely empty Ahmedabad bowl in which it unfolded, a tied contest led to not one but two chaotic super overs as South Africa – who are certainly no strangers to high drama on the World Cup stage – eventually came out on top, despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s three successive sixes threatening a remarkable heist.

Whilst Kagiso Rabada’s costly no-ball at the start of the 20th over had given Afghanistan a lifeline, it was the Afghans who were left to rue a number of costly errors.

An unnecessary run out to end the innings with still two balls remaining, Fazalhaq Farooqi failing to commit to a dive in an attempt to make his ground, a low full toss which allowed Tristan Stubbs to hit a six off the final ball of the first super over to level the scores and then the decisions for captain Rashid Khan not to bowl or have top-scorer Gurbaz face the start of the second super over will all be reflected upon with regret.

Disappointing early elimination

It leaves Jonathan Trott’s side on the brink of a disappointing early elimination – as was also the case in the 2025 Asia Cup – after two successive defeats in what was widely considered the strongest World Cup group with three genuine semi-final contenders.

As for South Africa, their bid for a maiden white-ball title remains on track, thanks largely to the contributions of Ryan Rickelton and Stubbs – two batters who were originally left out of their preliminary squad for the tournament in a potentially fortuitous twist of fate.

Group D leaders New Zealand were probably watching on, wondering where this second super over ruling was seven years ago, but for all the drama provided, it does raise the question on whether a tie should be an accepted form of result in a group stage match?

No luck for the Irish once again on the big stage

Ireland have also suffered a similar fate to Afghanistan, with two defeats to higher-ranked opposition, but did so with a bit of a whimper as they were comprehensively beaten by an Australian side missing a number of key players.

Promising starts with the ball have unraveled on both occasions, whilst the batting has suffered two disappointing collapses at different stages of the innings, leaving qualification out of their hands ahead of two more favourable-looking fixtures.

Whilst victories over Sri Lanka or Australia were by no means to be expected, the competition so far represents another underwhelming display by an Irish side at a major event.

Victories over England and West Indies in the 2022 edition were signs of promise, but falling at the first hurdle has otherwise been a common theme in more testing subcontinent conditions, whilst they have also been unable to claim one of the two qualification spots for the previous two 50-over World Cups.

Afghanistan and Ireland were both awarded Full-Member status in 2017, though their trajectories since have been quite the contrast.

Mitigating factors

There are mitigating factors to consider for that, of course – the sheer interest and talent pool at Afghanistan’s disposal, as well as the skillset of their players being much more aligned to the demands for global franchise leagues.

Afghanistan have also been in a position to lean on neighbouring boards and benefit from greater exposure at the top level, whilst Ireland’s allotted funding from the ICC simply does not go as far, with more emphasis on developing their domestic infrastructure.

In truth, given the population and national interest in cricket, it is impressive they are as competitive as they have been, though nevertheless Ireland have struggled to live up to their Full-Member status and face increasing competition from the likes of Scotland and Netherlands, as well as other emerging Associates.

It is hoped that the newly-formed European T20 Premier League and rewards from a new investment cycle will transfer into more competitive and consistent Ireland performances at future ICC events.

Are Pakistan genuine contenders?

Pakistan have dominated the headlines off the field with their intention to boycott the highly-anticipated clash with India on February 15 in Colombo – a decision they have since reversed.

However, on the field, Pakistan have made a quietly promising start and will be desperate to get one over on their fierce rivals after being on the receiving end of a heavily one-sided battle at ICC events to date (one win in 16 matches across both T20 and 50-over World Cup encounters).

Victories over Netherlands and USA are nothing to get too excited about, but they also proved the sort of tricky matchups where Pakistan have so often slipped up in the past, with many perhaps anticipating a similar outcome this time around.

The opening win over the Dutch had an element of good fortune, but revenge on the US from 2024 was a professional display, with a confident spin-heavy attack and batting unit with signs of much-needed firepower, which could take them far as a tournament underdog.

READ MORE: Sam Curran unable to save England as West Indies secure 30-run win at T20 World Cup