T20 World Cup: England v Nepal – Preview, how to watch, team news and prediction

Will Jacks says England go into the T20 World Cup “full of confidence and belief” as they look to regain the trophy they lost two years ago.

While much of the build-up has centred on off-field issues surrounding the pre-Ashes tour of New Zealand, and particularly the role of white-ball captain Harry Brook, England have been ticking over quite nicely in the shortest format of the game.

They have won 10 of their last 11 T20I games and also completed a morale-boosting 3-0 series win over tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka in the build-up.

They start their campaign against Nepal in Mumbai tomorrow and Jacks is optimistic for a successful campaign.

He said: ”We have been performing well over the last 12 months, since Harry’s become captain, and we’re very happy with that. What we did in the last few weeks in Sri Lanka is another stepping stone to that.

“We come here full of confidence and belief, which is obviously very important. But that doesn’t guarantee us anything. We know that there’s amazing teams in this World Cup. Knock-out cricket, if we get there, is tricky. But India on home soil, I think everyone knows they’re the favourites and the team to beat.”

Nepal’s players may lack experience on this stage but that is not the case for veteran coach Stuart Law.

Law played 54 ODIs for Australia and says his team can attack the likes of England and fellow Group C hopefuls the West Indies.

“I keep on telling the boys that England and West Indies will be under far more pressure than us,” Law told The Athletic. “We’ve got no right to win those games. They should walk all over us.

“But if we can grab hold of any mistakes they make and drive them home, then they could crumble. If you can stay calm when panic sets in among the opposition and keep delivering your skills, the rest should be plain sailing. I like the underdog tag. I grew up with it in Queensland so I’m pretty used to it. New South Wales were always 10 times better than anybody else and it was always nice to go and play them because you had no pressure on you to beat them.

“If you stuck to your guns and showed your skills, anything was possible. That’s how it is now.”

Such is the growing fanaticism for cricket in Nepal, Law knows the nation expects.

He added: “My expectations are realistic. A lot of people are saying we should qualify comfortably from this group [the top two go through] but nothing’s that easy. I wish it was.

“If we stick to our plans and recognise and then grab hold of the big moments, we have a great opportunity to put some wins on the board. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Team News for England v Nepal

England will likely include two seamers and rely on Jacks, Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid as their spin options.

Nepal’s star man is Sandeep Lamichhane, who has played in the IPL.

Predicted line-ups for England v Nepal

England: Salt, Buttler (wk), Bethell, Banton, Brook (c), Curran, Jacks, Dawson, Overton, Rashid, Archer

Nepal: Bhurtel, Aas Sheikh (wk), Jora, Singh Airee, Rajbanshi, Paudel (c), Kami, Karan, Lamichhane, Yadav, Malla

How to watch England v Nepal

The T20 World Cup will be shown exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can stream it on the Sky Go app.

For coverage elsewhere in the world, click HERE for details of your local rights holder.

Prediction for England v Nepal

Nepal will have large support in Mumbai and they should not be underestimated, particularly with the hugely knowledgable Law at the helm.

But England have the big-name players in Jos Buttler, Brook, Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer. And we think they will have enough to get the job done.