Steve Finn tips England to win T20 World cup despite mixed group stage performance (1 Viewer)

[TheGOAT🐐]

Former bowler Steven Finn has named England as the "third favorites" to win the T20 World Cup this summer. The defending champions had a rollercoaster group stage, with two rain-affected matches, a tough loss to Australia, and a record-breaking win against Oman.

England's campaign started shakily, with their opener against Scotland washed out and a 36-run defeat to Australia. This left them needing to win their next two matches to stay in the tournament. They rose to the occasion, defeating Oman by eight wickets, a victory that boosted their points and run-rate significantly.

A 41-run win over Namibia followed, despite some weather-related stress. England's spot in the Super 8s was secured when Australia defeated Scotland in the final group game. Despite their mixed performance, most bookmakers rank England as the third favorite to win the trophy, behind Australia and India, both of whom are in Group 1 of the Super 8s.

England is in Group 2 with South Africa, co-hosts West Indies, and the USA, who have been the surprise of the tournament. Finn acknowledges the threat posed by South Africa and the two-time T20 champions West Indies, but he still believes England is among the top contenders for the title.

"I would say that out of the teams that have come through to the group stage, you'd probably say England are third favourites. I think you've probably got Australia and India as one and two and then England. I would have us as the next best in that situation,".

"I think they've got a very good chance of doing it and I think that on their day that T20 cricket is all about performing in a really small window and one person having a day. I look up and down that line up and I see a lot of people who have got the ability to affect a game within five or six overs to really change the fortunes of the team.

"I think England are well poised, but I do think there are other good teams out there. South Africa are so dangerous. They're going to win a world tournament at some stage. They have to. They can't keep choking at semi-finals. So they're going to win a tournament at some stage, and you look at their team one to 11 and they've got almost everything covered that you would want in a T20 team.

"They've got pace. They've got power with the bat. They've got wrist spin, They've got good finger spin, they've got really athletic fielders. I see South Africa as really dangerous.

"And then you can just feel the atmosphere in the West Indies for the West Indies team in the Caribbean. Any time they're playing at home with their big superstar players Andre Russell and the like, then they're always going to be contenders in there as well.

"England have got a really tricky group to get through but you just hope that historical memories and good memories of this team doing well in previous tournaments in the last few years in those pressure moments will be able to carry them through."