Who: England vs Nepal
Content: 2026 ICC T20 World Cup
Location: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
Date and time: Sunday February 8th, 3pm (09:30 GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 06:30 GMT, ahead of the text commentary stream.
There is no doubt that England are among the favorites to lift the T20 World Cup title, but unlike in previous years, they did not start out as one of the red-hot favorites.
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Harry Brook’s captaincy has been questioned despite his undoubted talent with the bat, while English cricket as a whole is licking its wounds following recent woes, including the Ashes humiliation in Australia.
Al Jazeera Sports looks back at the opening match against Nepal.
What are England saying about the pressure on Brooks?
All-rounder Will Jacks said on Friday that ill-fated England T20 captain Harry Brook had the “100 per cent” support of his players after going through a “tough period”.
Brook, 26, who is in charge of a world tournament for the first time, has recently been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
He had to apologize for a “terrible mistake” after getting into an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during England’s tour to New Zealand last month.
Jacks has been close to Brooke since they were roommates on the England Under-19 team.
“Obviously it’s been a tough period and it’s been well reported in the media,” Jacks told reporters on the eve of the tournament before team training in Mumbai.
“I didn’t know anything about New Zealand because I wasn’t actually there.
“He obviously made the wrong decision but he accepts it. He’s obviously made amends on the pitch and we all support him 100 per cent.”
A highly talented scorer, Brook has the chance to shift his focus back to batting early on in the opening match between England and Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday.
“He wants his cricket to do the talking,” Jax said.
What is England and Brook’s T20 form before the World Cup?
England head into the World Cup in good T20 form, boosted by a 3-0 series win over co-hosts Sri Lanka this week.
In the previous ODI series against the same opponents, the explosive Brook smashed 136 off just 66 balls.
“It’s not just that we’ve gained momentum since then, but rather that we have a strong sense of team unity and within ourselves,” Jacks said.
“We have performed well over the last 12 months since Harry became captain and we are very happy with that.
“What we have done in Sri Lanka in recent weeks is a new stepping stone.”
Who else is in the England and Nepal groups?
England are expected to advance to the Super Eight stage from Group C, which also includes two-time champions West Indies, debutants Italy and Scotland.
“We come here full of confidence and belief that we can do great things in this tournament.
“But that doesn’t guarantee us anything. We know we have a great team in this World Cup.”
“I think everyone knows who is the favorite to win in India, back home.”
What is England’s T20 World Cup record?
England are the joint-record winners of the T20 World Cup with two trophies, along with West Indies and holders India.
Paul Collingwood captained England to his third edition of the tournament, with Jos Buttler’s side clinching their second title in 2022.
What is Nepal’s T20 World Cup record?
Nepal made their first appearance in the tournament in 2014, but had to wait until the 2024 tournament co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States for their second appearance.
In both cases, the Nepalese were eliminated in the first stage, ranking 12th and 17th.
Salt made a pass worthy of England’s opener.
Slugger Phil Salt was in top form as England named their squad for the first T20 World Cup match on Saturday.
He will start alongside wicketkeeper Jos Buttler in the Group C match against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Salt missed Tuesday’s third T20 match against Sri Lanka with back spasms, but trained successfully on Friday and will move to the top of the standings.
Tom Banton, fresh from his brilliant 54 off 33 balls against Sri Lanka five days ago, is preferred over Ben Duckett and will bat at number four.
Left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood will steal the show ahead of Jamie Overton, joining the seam attack alongside express Jofra Archer and Sam Curran.
England opted to have four spinners at their disposal, with spearheads Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson supported by all-rounders Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks.
England starting line-up
Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Bunton, Captain Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood
england national team
Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Bunton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt (captain), Josh Tan, Luke Wood.
Nepal representative
Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), Dipendra Singh Airi, Basheer Ahmad, Kushal Brutel, Sandeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sonpal Kami, Sandeep Lamichine, Shah Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav.
