Who: England vs Nepal
What: 2026 ICC T20 World Cup
Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
When: Sunday, February 8, at 3pm (09:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 06:30 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
England are undoubtedly among the frontrunners to lift the T20 World Cup title, but, unlike years gone by, they do not start as one of the red-hot favourites.
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Despite his undoubted ability with the bat, questions surround the captaincy of Harry Brook, while English cricket as a whole is licking its wounds following recent woes – including the Ashes humiliation in Australia.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at their open against Nepal.
What have England said about the pressure on Brooks?
All-rounder Will Jacks said on Friday that under-fire England T20 captain Harry Brook had “100 percent” support from the players after going through a “tough time”.
The 26-year-old Brook, in charge at a global tournament for the first time, has recently been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
He had to apologise last month for being involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during England’s white ball tour of New Zealand last year, something that had been a “terrible mistake”.
Jacks has been close to Brook since they were roommates with England Under-19s.
“Obviously, it’s been a tough time, and that’s been well documented in the media,” Jacks told reporters before team training in Mumbai on the eve of the tournament.
“I wasn’t actually in New Zealand, so I didn’t know anything about it.
“He’s obviously made the wrong decision, but he’s accepted that. He’s obviously making amends on the pitch, and we all back him 100 percent.”
Brook, a richly gifted run-scorer, has an early chance to shift the focus back onto his batting in England’s opening match against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday.
“He wants his cricket to do the talking,” said Jacks.
What is England and Brook’s T20 form before the World Cup?
England come into the World Cup in good form in T20, heartened by a 3-0 series win in Sri Lanka – one of the tournament co-hosts – this week.
In the preceding ODI series against the same opposition, the explosive Brook bludgeoned 136 off just 66 balls.
“It’s not so much we are taking momentum from that, but team unity, feeling strong within ourselves,” said Jacks.
“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.”
Who else is in England and Nepal’s group?
England are expected to make the Super Eight stage from a Group C that also features two-time winners West Indies, debutants Italy and Scotland.
“We come into here full of confidence and belief that we can go a long way in this tournament.
“But that doesn’t guarantee us anything. We know that there’s amazing teams in this World Cup.”
“India, on home soil, I think everyone knows who’s favourites.”
What is England’s T20 World Cup record?
England are the joint-record winners of the T20 World Cup with two trophy lifts to their name, alongside West Indies and holders India.
Paul Collingwood captained the English to the third edition of the competition, before Jos Buttler’s side sealed their second win in 2022.
What is Nepal’s T20 World Cup record?
Nepal made their debut at the 2014 edition of the competition, but had to wait until the West Indies and US co-hosted tournament in 2024 to make a second appearance.
On both occasions, the Nepalese were eliminated at the first stage, with 12th- and 17th-placed rankings.
Salt passed fit for England’s opener
Hard-hitting batsman Phil Salt was passed fit as England named their team on Saturday for their first match in the T20 World Cup.
He will open the batting alongside wicketkeeper Jos Buttler against Nepal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Sunday in Group C.
Salt missed Tuesday’s third T20 against Sri Lanka with a back spasm, but trained successfully on Friday and will take his place at the top of the order.
Tom Banton, fresh from a sparkling 54 off 33 balls against Sri Lanka five days ago, is preferred to Ben Duckett and will bat at number four.
Left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood gets the nod ahead of Jamie Overton and joins express man Jofra Archer and Sam Curran in the seam attack.
England have opted to have four spinners at their disposal, with spearheads Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson backed up by all-rounders Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks.
England’s starting lineup
Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood
England squad
Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt (captain), Josh Tongue, Luke Wood
Nepal squad
Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), 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