The England Cricket team players are bracing themselves to face off against one of the biggest teams, Australia in the 17th Match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on June 8.
The match is the first fixture between these two teams in any cricket format after their last match at Ashes, where English pacers had the Aussies sweating. The match is set to be played in the Kensington Oval Stadium, Barbados.
Why are Archer and Wood a force to reckon
The England Cricket team is expected to deploy two of their best pacers, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer against the Australian champions.
The English team is definitely desperate for a win, and will be grasping at straws after abandoning their last match against Scotland due to rain.
Archer has not played Australia since the 2020 white-ball series in England, which took place during the Covid 19 pandemic. Jofra had already made his mark against the Australians in his debut Test series in 2019.
Wood was also England’s most aggressive bowler in the 2023 Ashes, coming in at Headingley and guiding the hosts from 2-0 down to a 2-2 tie in the Test series.
However, it must also be taken into consideration that despite both these pacers being the world’s best, they will have to navigate through the Caribbean pitches, which are slower than their home country. There’s also the fact that T20 cricket is not the same as Test cricket.
Warner on English pacers Archer and Wood
Speaking about the upcoming match, Australian veteran David Warner doesn’t seem too scared to face the pacers.
The match on 8 June could very well be Warner’s last against the England Cricket team before his retirement.
“You just have to use their pace,” Warner said. “Test cricket they set different fields, different balls. In Twenty20 cricket, you only have to get half an edge on it and it can go. So there’s a fair difference.”
“I’ve played a lot of cricket over here,” Warner said. “You are expecting it to be low rather than bounce, unless it is real short. The variation in bounce is what surprises you. Because when they pitch the ball that eight-metre [from the stumps] length, your natural instinct is to pull it. But you have to go back to targeting straight, backing yourself, and if it does bounce, so be it.”
Warner had shown why he’s considered one of the best, after scoring 56 runs off of 51 balls in the match against Oman, successfully shutting down critics who questioned his performance in the IPL 2024.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram
