Former England captain Michael Vaughan said that the management’s position would come under the scanner if the national team failed to perform well in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Vaughan also added that the England team cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes they did in India during the ODI World Cup in 2013. England, defending champions were also defending their 50-over title as well but they suffered a group-stage exit after winning only three matches out of nine as well.
In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan added, “This England leadership group is under pressure. They failed miserably in India and if we see a similar defence of their 20-over World Cup trophy then I’m afraid people are not going to keep their jobs. You get judged as captain and coach on decisions at the toss, selections on the morning of the match, ensuring the mindset is right and playing the correct style at the right times. Let’s be honest, England made a lot of mistakes in India. Over the next four weeks they cannot make the same errors again.”
The veteran also showed concern about England’s performance across formats in the Caribbean as well. The team registered their first global title in the Caribbean in 2010 by winning the T20 World Cup as well. They beat Australia in the final, with Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter stepping up as well.
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“The one worry for England is they are not very successful in the Caribbean, apart from lifting the T20 World Cup in 2010. We have not won a Test series there since 2004, England lost both white-ball series in December. Sometimes in the Caribbean you become too relaxed. You are on the beach and the jet skis and in Barbados it almost feels like you are on holiday playing a bit of cricket on the side. It is trying to find that balance of not being too intense like they were in India, while also not being too relaxed as if on holiday,” he further shared.
Michael Vaughan also added that India have an advantage this time if the pitches are free of dew, but he also warned that they could struggle in high-scoring matches.
“The majority of India games start at 10.30 in the morning which will surely help them. Pitches will be drier, there will be no dew and spin will play more of a role which suits India. If the World Cup is a 170-par score then all the teams I have mentioned can win it.””If it goes to 210-240 par on small grounds and flat pitches I think England, South Africa, Australia and West Indies are the teams with the most power in their batting line-ups, closely followed by New Zealand. I think India are below that in terms of power. But if it is a 170 par, India are right in the hunt with their bowling,” Michael Vaughan concluded.
