Willey’s on road to glory
‘WE’RE IN A GREAT PLACE AND CAN GO ALL THE WAY’
DAVID WILLEY believes England have the competitive fire to go all the way in theT20World Cup.
The left-armer missed out on 50-over World Cup glory three years ago when he had to make way for Jofra Archer in the line-up.
He is aware that once again there are fierce battles for places in coach Matthew Mott’s England XI ahead of their opening game against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday.
But as they head into their final warm-up today against Pakistan in Brisbane,Willey says that is what is driving Jos Buttler’s side.
He said: “It’s a great dressing room to be a part of.As a collective, we’re in a great place and the good thing is it’s healthy competition – everybody wants each other to do well.
“The environment’s great. What Motty and
Jos have put together and the way we’re going about our business is brilliant.We’re back playing good cricket.
“We weren’t very good in the summer back home but we’ve had a fair bit of cricket for the lads to find form, and everyone’s in a pretty good space.”
England wobbled in limited-over action against India and South Africa in the summer, losing both T20 series and losing and drawing the two ODI series.
At the end, Liam Livingstone damaged ankle ligaments in a freak accident, endangering his World Cup chances. Livingstone, below, is expected to bring his big hitting back today against Pakistan, as well as his handy spin bowling.
He could get the nod ahead of Harry Brook for the Afghanistan game because of his two seasons in the Big Bash League with the Perth Scorchers.
Such is the strength of the batting, Brook and Livingstone are probably battling for one place at No.5, with Ben Stokes at four, Moeen Ali at six and Sam Curran at seven.
Buttler will probably open alongside Alex Hales, with Dawid Malan at No.3, meaning Phil Salt will miss out despite some good form. Again, Hales’s experience and prolific run scoring in the Big Bash are likely to tip the scales in his favour.
Willey is an outside bet to play against Afghanistan but sees the bigger picture and is happy to be back in the fold after missing out on home soil three years ago.
“You want to be playing in that first XI,” he said. “We wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t our mindset but anything can happen in these competitions and I’m sure there will be opportunities.
“Ultimately, we want to win a World Cup and whoever takes the field the lads will be right behind them.”