We are World Cup underdogs, insists Moeen
Stand-in skipper doesn’t want talk of lifting the trophy
PREPARATIONS for england’s latest attempt to unite world cricket’s white- ball titles begins in the fervent atmosphere of Karachi tonight — with stand-in captain Moeen ali downplaying their chances.
Moeen, wearing the armband until Jos Buttler returns from a calf injury, is in charge of a team that retains at its core some of the best limited- overs players this country has produced.
But he does not believe they need to lug the ‘favourites’ tag with them to the twenty20 World Cup in australia next month, despite reaching the semi-final stage of the last four global events. ‘it is important we don’t put pressure on ourselves and say we are going to win the World Cup,’ said Moeen.
‘We have been such a good side over the last two or three years but we have missed out, too, sometimes which is about weight of expectation.
‘We need to focus on one game. at the World Cup, we win one game at a time, by playing our best cricket and not worrying about the end result. that will take care of itself.
‘it suits our style to be not so desperate for something. of course, everyone wants to win it, but let’s see how it goes and play our best.’
there have been significant changes since the 2021 t20 tournament ended in a last-four exit to new Zealand last november. eoin Morgan’s midsummer retirement has been followed by the omission of opener Jason roy and year-ending injury to Jonny Bairstow.
and it will be hard to quantify the progress of the side on this trip, particularly in the short term, given the huge turnover of personnel from the team that will start the seven-match series here and the one expected to take the field in perth against afghanistan on october 22.
in addition to Buttler, seam bowlers Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and reece topley will have comebacks from injury carefully managed, while Ben stokes, Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan will bolster the squad down under.
england have already used 23 players in twenty20 this calendar year and nine more can expect game-time against asia Cup runners-up pakistan.
such drastic alterations in personnel have undoubtedly affected results, with all three bilateral series in 2022 ending in defeat.
Moeen suggests poor performances earlier this summer were partly a hangover from Morgan’s departure and partly a loss of tactical identity.
this tour, therefore, can be viewed as a ‘starting point’, said Moeen, who added: ‘this is not a reset. the test side has had a reset, and when Morgs took over, that was a reset. this is more about how we’re going to evolve and go forward.
‘Yes, we want to be brave and be aggressive, like we always have been, but there’s also a method to that.
‘Maybe this summer, we were going out and trying to be really aggressive, and were being bowled out. the fundamentals to batting remain, we just need to get that balance right.’ things will not get any easier over the next fortnight.
pakistan have a formidable record at the national stadium — which will host four 30,000 sellouts in six nights before the series moves to Lahore — winning all nine white-ball fixtures there since international cricket returned to the country three years ago. england are anticipating skiddy pitches in Karachi, but bouncier ones in Lahore.
the opening match carries significance on multiple levels. For Birmingham-born Moeen, the honour of captaining england against the country of his heritage. For pakistan, a first home match against england for 17 years.
and for the country itself, a vehicle for raising funds, as all proceeds will be used to provide relief to the millions affected by the recent devastating floods.