In the truest definition of the word, the England World T20 campaign has been extraordinary. From that mugging at the hands of Chris Gayle, the miraculous chase against South Africa, the near defeat against Afghanistan and the nerve-jangling win against Sri Lanka through to the semi-final mauling of New Zealand, England have truly ridden the WT20 wave in all its highs and lows.
What a difference a year has made. The embarrassing ease with which they were brushed aside in the 2015 World Cup has been replaced by a resilience and mental toughness seldom seen in an England side before. It’s a terrible cliché, but they genuinely don’t seem to know when they are beaten.
Would last year’s England have got out of that game with Afghanistan, for example? Reduced to 57 for 6, with a cock-a-hoop bowling attack scenting blood, the traditional English propensity for falling under the pressure juggernaut looked like it was happening once again. But instead Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and David Willey counter-attacked England to a total of 142 before helping to finish the job with the ball. The chance of a potentially tournament-shaking upset was ruthlessly flattened.
Although the Afghanistan match proved to be an exception, the real strength of England has been in that formidable batting line-up. The nudge-it-around style of the last World Cup is no more. Instead we see batsmen dripping in self-belief, reassured by the strength in depth of a batting order that can afford to bring in Willey at ten, and given free licence to express themselves.
England have embraced the ‘Vindaloo’ strategy. We’re gonna score one more than you. Fat Les will be proud.
And how it has worked. That chase against South Africa was truly astounding. From looking dead and buried at the end of the South African innings momentum was shifted through sheer force of will, largely through the performance of a batsman who has become emblematic of this new approach and key to England’s path to the final.
Although Joe Root’s masterful 83 in Mumbai grabbed the headlines it was Jason Roy at the top of the innings who set the tone. Four, four, dot, five wides, four, dot, four. Twenty one off that first Kagiso Rabada over and England were suddenly motoring. By the time he fell halfway through the fourth Roy had bludgeoned his way to 43 off only sixteen balls, with five fours, three sixes and a strike rate of 268.75.
It was a crucial knock. With it England had hit the ground running. Without it, simply, they would not have won.
Roy’s role at the top of the order alongside Alex Hales has been fundamental to England’s success. The two players dovetail extremely well. If one fails, the other usually delivers, and with partnerships including 48 (off fifteen balls) against South Africa and 82 (off fifty) against New Zealand they have provided stability and aggression in equal measure.
But it is Roy who has really come of age in this tournament. After a promising but inconsistent start to his England career he goes into the final having played in each of the five matches, racking up 183 runs at an average of 36.6. His semi-final-winning 78 off fifty balls, with its eleven fours and two sixes, was pure ‘essence of Roy’, an innings combining elegance, sweet timing and raw brutality. There is a whole-hearted passion about the way he hits a ball, how he approaches his whole game in fact, and Roy is clearly furious to be dismissed before he can finish the job.
Jason Roy has proved himself to be an essential component of this England machine, as much as Joe Root, Jos Buttler or Ben Stokes. He has been fundamental in getting his side to their second World T20 final, and his role in opening the innings will again be crucial in giving the team that now familiar momentum on Sunday.
And if the West Indies allow that to happen, as South Africa and New Zealand have already found to their cost, that Vindaloo strategy might well prove to be too hot to handle.
