‘We could have done without’ final warm-up game, admits England’s Willey

As the T20 World Cup started in Geelong on Sunday, the eight teams that have automatically qualified for the Super 12s gathered in Brisbane for their final warm-up matches, games that some consider a vital part of their preparations and others little more than an inconvenience.

Most teams play two games, an idea that England, despite some pressure from the ICC, simply refused to entertain. Having flown here from Canberra on Saturday they play Pakistan on Monday before moving on Tuesday to Perth, a flight of around five and a half hours, where they open their tournament against Afghanistan on Saturday. “We could have done without it to be honest,” David Willey said on Sunday. “To then fly all the way back to Perth is a bit of an inconvenience. We’ve played a lot of games and we could do without this one.”

These eight teams have taken fascinatingly contrasting approaches to preparing their players for this tournament, with some being constantly taxed while others mainly relaxed. Afghanistan, for example, play warm-ups against Bangladesh on Monday and Pakistan on Wednesday, their first games since the Asia Cup ended in early September. New Zealand on the other hand have played five games since mid-August, all of them in the last 10 days.

Meanwhile since the start of last month England have played 10 games and Pakistan 17, seven of them against each other. Neither is in particular need of an eighth, and with this one being unofficial most of their players are likely to be on the pitch at some point.

“I think we can play more than 11 and it’s always nice to be out in the middle under a bit of pressure so we’ll still get plenty out of the game,” Willey said. “But realistically we could have done without it.” In the last month