All set for power play

Defending champs England will be relentless with an aggressive approach today and 2019 runners-up New Zealand know this better than most teams

Captain Jos Buttler has promised much when England launch their campaign to defend the World Cup they won in dramatic fashion four years ago. The brand of cricket England have been playing was termed  “a revolution” by Ravi Shastri at the captains’ conclave at the Modi Stadium here on Wednesday. The England skipper promised to continue the aggressive style of cricket even at the cost of a few setbacks when they take on New Zealand today to get the mega-show underway.   

“The aggressive brand of cricket started by [former captain] Eoin Morgan has become the mantra for the present team, be it when playing with the red ball or white ball. There are bound to be a few reverses on the way. But we are mentally prepared for such eventualities. But in the long run, we have benefitted by being positive,” the England captain said.

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They are a well-rounded team with a plethora of players with all-round ability, which is essential in a long-format tournament where each team will be playing nine other opponents once, with the top four going into the semi-finals. It’s not going to be easy for the teams as all will be criss-crossing the country over the next 45 days. Fitness and fatigue will be major issues, besides coming to terms with local conditions. 

England’s immediate concern is the hip niggle, which back-to-ODIs Ben Stokes is carrying. That makes him doubtful for the first few games. “Yes, Ben is carrying a niggle. But definitely, he isn’t ruled out completely,” Buttler said. One of the challenges that the teams have to face is the dew factor, especially in the northern centres like Delhi, Dharamsala and Lucknow where defending a target can become a challenge if there is dew while bowling under lights. Buttler is confident that, as many of the England players have been playing in the IPL, they have enough experience to deal with not only the dew factor but also local conditions when spinners can come into play. 

“The IPL influence [with many England players playing in IPL] will help not only our team but also others like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. They all have players who play in the IPL and are now used to the conditions. That levels the playing field for the teams,” Buttler said. Whatever the challenges, England will provide maximum entertainment over the next few weeks with their mantra of aggressive cricket even when the chips are down. They play Test matches like ODIs, ODIs like T20s and T20s like T10s. If they can get going like they did in England four years ago,  they will be the team to beat at this ICC World Cup. 

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