Defending champions England came into this edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 as one of the leading contenders to defend their title. However, the Jos Buttler-led side did not had the best of starts in this mega event as their opening game against Scotland ended in a washout and then they suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of their Ashes rivals Australia. But then, England qualified for the Super 8 stage of the competition on the back of thrashing wins over Namibia and Oman. During the Super 8 stage of the tournament, the defending champions picked up thumping victories over co-hosts West Indies and United States of America (USA). In this article piece, check out the SWOT analysis of the England cricket team in this T20 World Cup 2024. 

SWOT Analysis of England Cricket Team

England's strength in this edition of 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup lies in their top-order batting so far with the likes of skipper Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Jonny Bairstow being amongst the runs during the entire league stage. English captain Jos Buttler led his team from the front in the most recent encounter against USA where he smashed a blistering unbeaten knock of 83 runs off just 38 balls that included 7 sixes and 6 fours to help his side chase down the target in just 9.4 overs. He is currently the leading run-getter for his team having scored a total of 191 runs 7 matches at an average of more than 47 and a fine strike-rate of close to 160.

On the other side, explosive opening batsman Phil Salt has composed an impressive tally of 183 runs from 6 innings at an average of 45.75 that includes a fabulous innings of 87 runs off just 47 deliveries in the successful run-chase against West Indies. Jonny Bairstow has also got some valuable starts in this tournament but he has failed to convert them into a big innings. He can be very dangerous in the India vs England semi-final match scheduled to take place on 27 June, 2024 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. 

While talking about their weakness, England's pace bowlers, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have not been that much effective on the West Indies pitches so far as witnessed in this tournament. Both these express fast bowlers have failed to pick wickets at regular intervals and that has surely hurt England's chances in the opening stage of the tournament. The team management have also given opportunities to left-arm pacer Reece Topley, but he has too failed to deliver at the penultimate situations. 

Considering the opportunities for England, Harry Brook has bailed his team out at many crucial junctures in this T20 World Cup 2024. In the match against Namibia, Brook smacked an incredible unbeaten knock of 47 runs off just 20 balls that included 4 fours and 2 sixes. He also compiled an important half-century stand with Liam Livingstone in the Super 8 clash against Australia, but failed to take his team over the finishing line. In that match, Brook played an excellent innings of 53 runs off 37 deliveries. 

While talking about their threat, premier leg-spinner Adil Rashid has been the key wicket-taker for England in the ongoing edition of the 2024 T20 World Cup so far. In the match against Oman, the right-arm leggie managed to take as many as four wickets and gave away just 11 runs in his quota of four overs. Rashid also took a couple of wickets against USA in the previous match. 

During the second semi-final encounter of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, India will be locking horns with the defending champions England scheduled to be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on 27 June, 2024. Interestingly, both these teams also faced each other in the semi-finals of T20 World Cup 2022 where England registered a massive 10-wicket win over India. In the ongoing edition of the mega event, India are currently unbeaten after having registered as many as six victories. On the other hand, England defeated West Indies and USA to qualify for the semi-final. In case of a washout at Guyana, India will directly make it to the final as they finished at the top of the table in the Super 8 stage.