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England at crossroads as seismic India semi-final looms
England at crossroads as seismic India semi-final looms
Mumbai has been celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi this week.
The holiday – packed with colour, music and parties – marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
On Thursday, attention will turn to the Wankhede Stadium, the iconic arena in the heart of the city's downtown.
Thursday's T20 World Cup semi-final between England and India will be one of the great occasions.
These sides have met in the last four of the past two editions of this tournament but neither were at Indian cricket's spiritual home.
With its tiny boundaries, flat batting track and steep stands packed with supporters in Indian blue, the Wankhede is a place that can send the calmest minds into a spin.
Captain Harry Brook stands two wins from becoming only the fourth man to lead England to a World Cup win.
He has said some of England's players have been hoping this fixture would come at this World Cup, because of the significance it brings.
Now we will see just how ready they are.
And while a World Cup semi-final against cricket's superpower is seismic in its own right, this is one that could decide the direction of the next two years of English cricket.
Any success for England coach Brendon McCullum at this tournament has come with the caveat of the winter's Ashes travails in Australia.
The mood around this England camp has been positive – impressively so given the baggage brought into the campaign - but there remains little certainty over McCullum's future.
Right now, it feels as though the New Zealander has found more stable ground in reaching the semi-finals, but few are speaking with conviction.
Thursday night will define how this campaign is remembered.
Stay, be pushed or walk. All options still feel possible to some degree.
McCullum is a latecomer to this England-India T20 trilogy, but another icon of the modern game will again hope to be front and centre.
Jos Buttler, so badly out of form over the past three weeks, scored 80 not out as captain to lead his side to a 10-wicket win in the 2022 semi-final – arguably England's greatest white-ball performance alongside the semi-final demolition of Australia at Edgbaston in 2019.
Thursday's match will be his 411th for England as he extends a record that may never be beaten.
There have been notable lows, but it is often forgotten just how many of England's highs over the past decade have been witnessed by Buttler – a man who has always put his country first.
He was key to their wins in 2019 and 2022, of course, but also on the field for their most recent Ashes win and Ben Stokes' heroics at Headingley.
A white-ball GOAT that is somehow still underappreciated.
But hopes that being relieved of the captaincy would result in a return to his best batting form have failed to come true.
Last to leave again on Wednesday, Buttler has worked tirelessly in the nets but his time will come one day, as it has for Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy – three other icons of that 2019 title-winning side.
The question is whether there is one last hurrah, whether one innings or a wider upturn that can last through to the 2027 World Cup.
At his best, Buttler is able to mix that icy cool glare with a smile and a spark in the eye.
That salute of Sheldon Cottrell in Grenada, having whacked the West Indies seamer for six, came during his best batting days.
Maybe the joy brought by Holi is England's last hope of resurrecting that from deep within because England, Brook and McCullum need Buttler now as much as ever.
Brook has led admirably through his first World Cup at the helm.
His century against Pakistan was sensational, his on-field leadership tactically astute, but throughout he has looked England's only world-class frontline batter.
Imagine the boost that would come from Buttler ramping and driving the Wankhede crowd into silence. Imagine the impact that could have on England's opposition.
If the spark does not return, Brook will rely on the power of the collective – what India's bowling coach Morne Morkel described as a more "street smart" England set-up under the Yorkshireman's leadership.
Buttler and coach Matthew Mott failed to pick Ben Duckett or bowl Moeen Ali on a turning surface for that Guyana defeat in 2024.
Brook and McCullum brought Liam Dawson and Sam Curran back from the cold and turned Will Jacks from dashing opener to late-order finisher – big calls that have been rewarded.
The Ashes can and will be debated but here they have not made those simple errors.
That fact and success in a series of tight finishes gives England's a fighting chance of something special with or without Buttler on Thursday.
A month ago, India were viewed as inevitable champions such was their record. Their stumbles to this point mean that is no longer the case.
Still, Buttler and English cricket as a whole stand at a critical point, almost 5,000 miles from home.
If Holi marks the end of winter, this match is a chance for both Buttler and England to ensure Thursday night is not the end of something bigger too.
Source: BBC
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