IIf there was one thing the England and Italy players agreed on at the end of a hugely entertaining and, from an English perspective, often relating match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, it was that the situation favored their opponents.
England felt that the Italians, unburdened by expectations, enjoyed a free goal. “It’s not an easy game because all the pressure is on us,” said Jamie Overton. “It’s not easy for them either, but they can show what they can do.”
Meanwhile, Italy felt that the English, with their greater tournament experience, always had the upper hand. “They’re a great side, the England side,” said Grant Stewart, whose 23-ball 45 revived Italy’s chances as the match neared its conclusion. “I think the game was won and lost in those big moments. We’re not exposed to it as much as they are, and it showed. If we played more of these games so we were exposed to those situations, I think we would probably be better equipped, but right now that’s just not the case. They were better than us and they won the big moments.”
Even without having a much larger talent pool and some of the world’s most highly regarded white-ball cricketers, by playing in them so regularly, England should in theory be better equipped for major cricket tournaments than the Italians appearing in their first tournaments.
“We played sub-regional matches on artificial grass wickets in Rome not so long ago,” said Stewart. “So to play here at Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium against teams like England, that’s what dreams are made of.”
But then a lot of the English experience also seems quite pointless. Overton played in only his third World Cup match and represented 1.5% of his 195 senior T20s. For Will Jacks, that figure is 2.8%, seven out of 247. Even Jos Buttler, who has played in 39 matches at T20 World Cups dating back to 2012, has made 92% of his T20 appearances to his name, either in bilateral international series, with little at stake other than professional or national pride, or on the seemingly endless franchise treadmill.
Despite the fact that World Cups are held more often than many would like, experienced players can still be confused by the stress and unfamiliarity of a truly meaningful T20, even against opponents they expect to beat routinely.
“There’s always a little bit more nerves because there’s a little bit more going on,” Overton said. “But we’re trying to go into it with the mentality of being as brave as we can be, and tackling the game as much as we can. We have a saying among the group, ‘No one will be braver than us’, the way we’re going to play our cricket. It might not work every time, but we’re going to do everything we can.”
Whether England were advantaged or disadvantaged, it is not a situation they will face again, with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan their likely opponents in the Super 8s. What they hope will help them is their familiarity and recent success in a country where they won five of six matches just before the World Cup started, including three T20s in Pallekele, where they will play their first two matches.
“We’re getting back to an area where we have a good track record, especially in the last month,” Overton said. “We have a good feeling there and fingers crossed that we can put in some good performances.”
They may have won three games, but so far there have been none, and if inspiration doesn’t strike soon, disaster will strike. “We still have a few things we need to work on,” Overton deadpanned, though he couldn’t identify them. “I think we just haven’t quite hit the mark with a bat or a ball. We’ve done the qualifying. We haven’t been at our best and we know there’s a lot more cricket in us. Fingers crossed we can show what we can do in the next three games.”
There have been disagreements over the organization of this tournament, mainly due to the last minute announcement of the fixtures and the sometimes chaotic ticketing arrangements, but all of England’s matches to date, and in particular the two matches in Calcutta against associated countries, have been brilliantly supported. There were more than 20,000 people in Eden Gardens on Monday, many of whom found the spirit of the Italians intoxicating.
“There were moments when you took a step back and just thought, ‘This is amazing,’” said Italian batsman Justin Mosca. “They had the lights on and the Italia chant came on. There was a moment where Greg [Stewart] hit one of the biggest sixes I’ve seen in history, and the lights were on, and it was amazing. There were several times, but that was one that surprised me.
Against Italy, just like 48 hours earlier against Scotland, it was clear that local supporters prefer to support the underdog. In any case, given their performance so far, England should have most of the neutrals on their side from now on.
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