England's tough task
Can England defend their title?
Last Updated: June 24, 2012 7:18pm
The Cricket Writers on TV discuss how England are shaping up for the T20 World Cup.
"I think England are going to have a really tough task to defend that title"
Andrew Miller Quotes of the week
England have just four scheduled T20 internationals to play before they fly out to Sri Lanka in September to defend the crown they won two years ago, and have little time to fill the void left by Kevin Pietersen who has from limited-overs cricket.
"I think England are going to have a really tough task to defend that title," said Andrew Miller from The Cricketer magazine.
"But then again all it takes is three weeks of getting it right. And basically that is what happened last time around. You never know - there is still time for KP to reverse his decision and comeback to beef out the batting order.
"I don't think that will necessarily happen but the point is that there is still time for something to happen between now and September for England to hit upon a team to suddenly do something - although it is highly unlikely."
The Sun's John Etheridge believes that England's bowling attack is still very strong, while Cricinfo's George Dobell is also concerned with the loss of Pietersen.
"The conditions in the Caribbean when they won it was largely like the sub-continent," explained Etheridge.
"The pitch in Barbados, despite what people say, was a slow deck. I think with England's attack they have got a chance against anyone, our batting looks fragile especially without Pieterson.
George Dobell added: "The loss of Kevin Pietersen is enormous, he was the player of the tournament in 2010 and was magnificent, despite coming home in the middle for the birth of his son.
"Which is a little bit ironic because what he was asking for was to spend a bit more time with his family and it showed during that tournament that it can happen with a little bit of flexibility."
