WHO: England vs Nepal
What: 2026 ICC T20 World Cup
Where: Wankhede StadiumMumbai, India
when: Sunday 8 February at 3pm (09:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the preparations underway for Al Jazeera Sports ahead of the text commentary stream, starting at 06:30 GMT.

England are undoubtedly one of the front-runners to win the title T20 World Cup The champions, however, unlike past years, were not one of the hot favorites to start with.

While his ability with the bat is undoubted, Harry Brooke’s captaincy remains in question while the entire English cricket world is licking its wounds after recent woes – including Australia’s Ashes humiliation.

Al Jazeera Sports looks back at their match against Nepal.

What do England have to say about the pressure on Brooks?

All-rounder Will Jacks said on Friday that under-criticized England T20 captain Harry Brooke has “100 per cent” support from his players after going through a “tough time”.

Brook, 26, who is taking charge of a global championship for the first time, has been thrust into the spotlight of late for all the wrong reasons.

Last month he had to apologize for a “horrible mistake” following an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during England’s white-ball tour of New Zealand last year.

Jakes has been close to Brooke since they were roommates in the England Under-19 team.

“Obviously, it’s a difficult time and it’s well documented in the media,” Jacks told reporters ahead of the team’s training session in Mumbai on the eve of the game.

“I’m not actually in New Zealand so I don’t know anything about it.

“He obviously made the wrong decision but he accepts it. He’s obviously making amends on the pitch and we’re all 100 per cent behind him.”

Brooke, a talented run-scorer, will get the chance to turn attention to his batting early on in England’s opener against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday.

“He wanted his crickets to be able to talk,” Jacks said.

How is England and Brooke’s T20 form ahead of the World Cup?

England’s 3-0 win in the World Cup co-host Sri Lanka series this week has seen England head into the World Cup in good form, tied for 20th.

In the previous ODI series against the same opponent, the explosive Brooke smashed 136 off just 66 balls.

“It’s not that we get motivation from it, it’s just the unity of the team and we feel strong inside,” Jakes said.

“We’ve been performing well over the past 12 months since Harry became captain and we’re really pleased with that.

“What we’ve done in Sri Lanka over the past few weeks is another stepping stone.”

Who else is in the England and Nepal teams?

England are expected to reach the Super Eights from Group C, which also includes two-time champions West Indies, debutants Italy and Scotland.

“We come here with a lot of confidence that we can go far in this competition.

“But that doesn’t guarantee us anything. We know there are a lot of good teams in this World Cup.”

“India, on the soil of the motherland, I think everyone knows who is the favorite.”

What is England’s record in the T20 World Cup?

England lifted the trophy twice, joining West Indies and defending champions India as joint champions of the T20 World Cup.

Paul Collingwood guided England into the third edition of the tournament before Jos Buttler’s side sealed their second win of 2022.

What is Nepal’s T20 World Cup record?

Nepal made their debut in the 2014 tournament but will not make their second appearance until 2024 when the tournament is co-hosted by West Indies and the United States.

Both times, the Nepali was eliminated in the first stage, ranking 12th and 17th respectively.

Salter returns from injury in England’s opener

England named their squad for the first match of the T20 World Cup on Saturday without batsman Phil Salt due to injury.

He will open the batting alongside wicketkeeper Jos Buttler in their Group C match against Nepal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Salter missed Tuesday’s third T20 match against Sri Lanka due to back spasms but trained successfully on Friday and will take his place at the top of the order.

Tom Banton, who had impressed with a 33-ball 54 against Sri Lanka five days ago, is preferred over Ben Duckett to bat at No. 4.

Left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood got the nod ahead of Jamie Overton and joins pacers Jofra Archer and Sam Curran in the seam attack.

England have selected four spinners at their disposal, with spearheads Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson supported by all-rounders Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks.

England starting lineup

Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brooke (captain), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood

england

Harry Brooke (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (goalkeeper), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt (captain), Josh Tongue, Luke Wood

Nepal team

Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Aasif Sheikh (goalkeeper), Dipendra Singh Airee, Basir Ahamad, Kushal Bhurtel, Sundeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sher Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav