England are through to the last four with a match to spare, yet bowling coach Tim Southee keeps talking about a “perfect game” that remains elusive.
“I think everyone wants to go out and do well. I think it’s a great sign on this side,” Southee said in Delhi on Thursday. “We’ve only dropped one game in the last however many games, and we’ve won in different ways. We haven’t played the perfect game or played a complete performance across all three formats, but we’ve still found ways to win. If it does come off and we do have the perfect game, then it should be a great one to witness.”
Those wins have come in every shade. England swept Sri Lanka in the warm-up T20s, then breezed through the group phase, but the coach insists the margins are less important than the method. What pleases him most is the range of contributors.
Will Jacks has been the headline act among the newer faces. His off-spin brought 3 for 22 against Sri Lanka in the Super Eights, and he followed it with a nerveless 21* at the death. Earlier in the tournament he belted a 21-ball half-century versus Italy – the fastest fifty by an England player in a T20 World Cup.
Liam Dawson, hardly a glamorous pick, keeps choking sides in the middle overs. His 3 for 24 against Pakistan turned what might have been a 180-plus chase into something far more manageable and effectively booked the semi-final ticket. Jamie Overton, meanwhile, has nine wickets in five outings and very little fanfare. On a sluggish Chennai surface he used that heavy, back-of-a-length ball to remove Babar Azam and Sahibzada Farhan in the same over, stalling Pakistan’s surge.
“It’s been brilliant how we’ve been able to win in different ways and different guys stepping up. A lot of the time, probably the guys that aren’t as well known for being the dangerous players – Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, guys like that who have come in and had big impacts, [Liam] Dawson. To sit here being already qualified with a game to go is only a good thing,” Southee added.
Faf du Plessis, working television duties this fortnight, observed the same theme from the sidelines. “England not playing their best and still winning is scary,” he said, and you feel plenty inside the opposition dressing rooms agree.
Southee’s other task is coaxing rhythm out of a pace attack that on paper is the most intimidating in the competition. Mark Wood’s raw speed, Reece Topley’s angle, Sam Curran’s variations – yet the focus remains Jofra Archer, still nursing his body back after a run of injuries.
“He’s obviously a class bowler. He’s inquisitive; he loves cricket, loves chatting cricket. I think the last few games he’s sort of kicked into another gear,” Southee said. Archer’s speeds have crept above 150kph again and, perhaps more valuable, he has begun finishing four-over spells at close to full tilt.
The coach isn’t pretending everything is rosy. England’s power-play returns have been patchy and the middle order has had to bail them out twice. There are fielding lapses too: Moeen Ali’s dropped catch off Kusal Mendis, Jonny Bairstow’s mis-throw that offered Pakistan four easy runs. Small things, but Southee knows semi-finals punish them.
New Zealand, oddly enough, lie in wait on Saturday, and the meeting has personal resonance. Southee played 94 Tests and 200-odd white-ball internationals for the Black Caps; he still texts Kane Williamson after most matches. Asked if it will feel strange trying to plot their downfall, he half-smiled. “You learn quickly in coaching that once the anthem’s done you’re into your work. Emotion can’t cloud the plans.”
The plans, in short: target Devon Conway early with left-arm swing, dry up Glenn Phillips with Dawson and Adil Rashid, then unleash Archer at the death. Sounds neat on the whiteboard; rarely so tidy on grass.
A bigger concern may be England’s own batting. Harry Brook has struck just one fifty, Phil Salt keeps flashing hard without pushing on, and Jos Buttler has talked openly about finding “another gear”. Still, when you are winning anyway, problems become talking points rather than crises.
Whether England locate that fabled perfect game is anyone’s guess. Southee would enjoy it; opponents would fear it; neutral supporters might simply hope it avoids becoming a damp squib of one-sided cricket. For now, the semi-final looms, and the coach is content to chase perfection for at least one more match.
