England wrapped up victory in the T20 series against New Zealand today by beating their hosts via a super-over in the final and deciding match. For the Kiwis, the parallels to their heartbreaking loss in the final of the World Cup this summer are all too familiar but the reality is that unlike that match this series was not contested by the best elevens that either side could have fielded.
I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago highlighting the young-guns that England had taken with them on their Autumn tour and all 5 players have come away with enhanced reputations from the series as well as a sense of what they need to improve to truly succeed at this level of cricket. While the early focus and excitement was always going to be around those debutants it would be fair to say that it was some of the players who have been floating around the fringes of the England team who have been largely responsible for the 3-2 win
This group of players includes the likes of Tom Curran, a guy who spent the first half of the summer carrying drinks for his World Cup-winning teammates; His brother Sam Curran who despite being the player of the series against India in 2018 struggled to get a look in during the Ashes; Dawid Malan a man who regardless of having Bradamesque stats for his country in T20 cricket has been unable to break into the white ball team and Chris Jordan a man who was once considered a future star in all formats of the game but now reduced to a one-trick pony.
All 4 men have given the selectors pause for thought as we build towards the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
Tom Curran bowled with excellent variety at the top of the innings and throughout the middle overs and is also becoming a capable option as a yorker bowler at the death. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the elder Curran in T20 cricket is his ability to put a bad ball or over behind him and come back at the batsmen. I thought that was beautifully illustrated in the final over of the 5th match where he was hit for 6 by Kiwi keeper-batsman Seifert (to be honest the ground was so small anyone could hit a maximum) but returned next ball with the perfect yorker. In a game so finely poised, it is moments like that which ultimately make the difference.
As mentioned above, Tom's younger brother Sam has had a frustrating spell on the edges of the team lately but it was testament to how highly the England hierarchy regard the young all-rounder that he was one of only 4 men and the only frontline bowler to play in all 5 matches. To be honest, I was a little surprised that he went for such a large amount in the IPL auction this time last year given his relative inexperience at the top level of T20 but Curran just keeps on delivering on the big stage. He is the perfect blend of youthful vigour, outright arrogance but with a cricketing brain to back it all up. He bowled beautifully at the top of the innings and made a couple of contributions with the bat. If you were to be ultra-critical of his performances to date in an England shirt it would be that he is a better batsman than just the dasher that he has made a name as and he needs to begin to value his wicket more highly.
Dawid Malan is now the number 3 ranked batsmen in world T20 cricket! His stellar performance has seen him jump ahead of the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Martin Guptill and despite having played just 9 T20 innings he has passed the 50 mark 6 times. His century in the penultimate match was just the 2nd by an English man in this format of the game and the fastest to date. It would be fair to say that the standard of New Zealand's bowling in this series was not great but you've still got to cash in and Malan did so big time. I always felt that he was given too long a run in the Test team but Malan clearly still harbours ambitions to play at the highest level for his country and weight of runs is the only way that is going to happen.
I remember watching Chris Jordan as a young raw talent bursting into the Surrey team over a decade ago. There was hope then that his guy was going to be a force in all forms of the game but as the years have rolled by he has gone from a red ball hopeful to a white ball specialist to a strictly T20 pro. While it's a shame that he never reached the heights many expected of him, it now appears that he is at the peak of his powers in the shortest format of the game. He was England's leading wicket-taker in this series as well as their most economical (5+ overs), he was immaculate as ever in the field and with a weakened batting line-up, he even got the chance to show that he is still a clean striker of the cricket ball. Of all the fringe players involved in this series who were hoping to use it as a platform to boost their chances of selection over the next 9 months, I would say Jordan's name stands out the most.
While we've been told that the change in coach will see a renewed focus on the Test Match team, it is clear to see from the performance of some of these fringe players that we have great strength and depth in white ball cricket. Most of these players along with a few of the youngsters mentioned in my previous blog will also get the chance to compete in T20 franchises such as the Big Bash and IPL over the next 6 months where they will hope to further their claims for starting role in the England team.
