England vs India - The Tactical Battle

Spin the deciding factor for the semi-final?

In yesterday’s Substack, which looked at World Cup Group Stage Data from the Super 12s, I highlighted some worrying signs for both teams ahead of their semi-final on Thursday. India definitely have had issues with Powerplay run production (largely bailed out by the unbelievable Suryakumar Yadav during the latter stages of their innings) but in my view, England’s issues have been more of a problem and unless they resolve them, will see them struggle to progress this week in the knockout stages for the World Cup.

First up, England rank 7th to India’s 3rd in the net boundary percentage charts (boundary percentage scored - boundary percentage conceded) from the main group stages, again shown here:-

Given how strong the correlation is between this metric and tournament qualification in franchise T20 leagues, this cause for concern should not be underestimated - particularly as England have over performed with the ball in the World Cup so far.

Only Netherlands managed a lower boundary percentage than England in the Super 12s, which is quite the indictment in how poor England’s batting group have been in the tournament to date - make no mistake, praise for qualification should be heaped on their bowlers.