England vs Afghanistan Prediction: England will be obvious favorites

The T20 World Cup has thrown a challenge to the ICC. West Indies, the former champion couldn’t even make it past the preliminary round as they suffered defeats to Associates Ireland and Scotland. The challenge is that the Associate scene has grown a lot and these squads will need more games against the top teams to grow further, imagine if this was the case all along, not one or two odd series in a year but a packed schedule with constant movement against the big guns. One such story of growth is Afghanistan who has surpassed even former top-eight squads in some ways. Afghanistan will tackle England here to begin their campaign.

England will come into this tournament with a lot of confidence. With Jos Buttler and Alex Hales opening up, the potential to score 10 runs per over in the first quarter of the innings is high, while Buttler is creative, Alex imposes his will through power strikes. To make the matters worse for opponents, Dawid Malan comes in next and he is one of the best T20 players of the era. Ben Stokes’ experience and Harry Brooks’ promise will hold the middle order.

While Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, and the lower order is more than capable of giving the finishing blows. In terms of bowling, the injury to Reece Topley hurts the balance as he is someone who uses his height well and can generate a lot of pace, which is of course handy in Australian conditions. Mark Wood will lead the attack and what an amazing form this fellow has been! Chris Jordan can be a close-out bowler but has leaked a bunch of runs many times.

Sam Curran has reinvented his medium-fast bowling and has a lot of variety. But the trouble is who rounds off the bowling attack? Will Chris Woakes be fit enough to play? They badly need him after Topley’s injury. Is there a spot for Tymal Mills, who can be striking but has a tendency of leaking a lot of runs? Can the spin attack duo of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali remain relevant on the Australian tracks? They surely have the experience.

Afghanistan’s style of cricket is unorthodox. They are a team that can start with unorthodox batters who look hoick everything and after a platform is built, utilize the middle order as the glue to avoid collapses. The collapses come because they want to go whack whack, not in the most inventive way, just good ol’ bashing of the ball. At the top, Hazratullah Zazai embodies this style but he has gotten out cheaply way too much lately. Rahmatullah Gurbaz’s form has been off but these youngsters can rediscover their touch here.

Ibrahim Zadran at number three is perhaps the most reliable top-order batter and has gone past 30s often these days. Najibullah Zadran is completely out-of-touch these days, going for single-digits score way too often. A lot of the middle-order burden will be once again on Mohammad Nabi, who has shown the way and played the rescue act more than one can count on fingers. Afghanistan needs to sort out their batting.

It is their spin bowling that makes Afghanistan a formidable foe. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman are sought-after spinners in league cricket who have made a huge name for themselves, bringing in both variation and control. Fareed Ahmad is a developing prospect as a Lefty pacer. Naveen-ul-Haq brings promise but it is often the fourth or fifth bowler in the attack that is unable to contain the run flow. How will Afghanistan address that problem? Who will fill out the overs?

• Top-Order Batting: England: A | Afghanistan: B-;
• Middle-Order Batting: England: B+ | Afghanistan: C+;
• Lower-order Batting: England: B+ | Afghanistan: C+;
• Spin bowling: England: C+ | Afghanistan: A+;
• Pace bowling: England: B | Afghanistan: C+;
• Fielding: England: A | Afghanistan: B;
• Overall: England: A | Afghanistan: B

Afghanistan is a surprise that keeps overturning fortunes. England is a team that can be suspect in major tournaments. However, if you look at the batting, England has way more craft. However, the spin bowling component has kept Afghanistan’s tails up for a long time and it can be the case here. The trouble is Afghanistan that they are still not well-versed at closing the deal and nerves can show against elite squads. At any rate, they will need their batting to fire at all costs to start the campaign and set a promising precedent. I don’t believe England allows it here as Australian tracks are more suited to their needs. I predict an England win.