The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
BroadinsistsEnglandcanstillchallengeforworldtitle
ENGLAND CRICKET captain Stuart Broad believes his side can become unlikely challengers at theWorldTwenty20 after throwing off the shackles in a thrilling win over Sri Lanka.
It may seem premature for Broad to be publicly pondering such things, with England still needing to beat South Africa today to avoid an early exit, but the brevity of the competitionmeanstrophywinning momentum can be pieced together in a matter of days.
Now, having overturned the world’s No 1 T20 side in some style — Alex Hales playing the innings of the tournament as he clubbed an unbeaten 116 in 64 balls — England are starting to seem like less fanciful contenders.
They have previous form as underdog champions, winning the 2010 edition after arriving in the Caribbean widely unfancied and, although a repeat performance in Bangladesh is still some way off, Broad is optimistic.
“T20 is a momentum game and the innings we chased against Sri Lanka was one of the best I’ve ever witnessed,” said Broad, who yesterday was fined for the second time at the World Twenty20, losing 40% of his match fee for a slow over rate in the Lanka.
“The confidence and belief we will get from that going into our final two group games is going to be huge. It’s in our hands a little bit now.
“If we had lost against Sri Lanka we were pretty much out of the World Cup.
“With that sort of pressure, it’s exciting to see players come through that.
“We have got two group games left and we’re very confident we can do well in those.”
South Africa have been hit by the suspension of
win
over
Sri captain Faf du Plessis for their must-win match.
Du Plessis is one of two skippers, Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal the other, sanctioned by the International Cricket Council for his side’s slow over-rate.
In yesterday’s Group 2 games West Indies beat Australia by six wickets while India beat Bangladesh by eight wickets.
Kevin Pietersen has entered the draft for the Caribbean Premier League as he continues to fill his diary after his England career came to an abrupt end.