MUMBAI: On the field they might be having a prolific run winning 10 of the last 11 completed T20Is but off the field they have been in the eye of storm in the previous few months due to alleged drinking culture and stag-do atmosphere. What made the matter worse for them was involvement of their white-ball captain Harry Brook in one of such incidents.
Brook was fined a maximum of £30,000 following an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington in New Zealand on October 31, 2025, just hours before an ODI. The matter was initially kept under the rug but it eventually saw the day of light wreaking havoc. Further revelations regarding the presence of other players with Brook caused more damage bringing a lot of spotlight on the coach Brendon McCullum as well. The England and Wales Cricket Board responded with a 12AM curfew covering the T20 World Cup.
Given the situation they are in, the ongoing tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka holds great significance not only for Brook and Co but even the coach. In their previous outing during the marquee event 10 years ago in India, they reached the final only to be deflated by West Indian Carlos Brathwaite's four sixes off Ben Stokes' final over of the match. They went on to lift the title in the 2022 edition for their second trophy and nothing less than repeating the feat will dig them out of the hole they currently find themselves in.
Who else better understands the situation than Brook himself and he took it upon himself when England took the field in their World Cup opener against Nepal here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday afternoon. After electing to bat, England didn't have the start they wanted as Phil Salt departed in the second over. Experienced Jos Buttler showed early promise scoring a 17-ball 26 but perished in the run of play. Tom Banton also didn't last long bringing Brook together with Jacob Bethell.
The duo steadied the ship as they added 71 runs for the fourth wicket with Bethell scoring a fluent 55 off just 35 balls with the help of four boundaries and as many sixes. He departed in the 14th over but Brook carried on taking the team beyond the 150-run mark. He eventually got out for 53 in the penultimate over but by then Will Jacks had taken over as he remained unbeaten on 39 off 18 balls to help England reach 184/7.
However, Nepal turned out to be tough customers for the two-time champions. Egged on by the vociferous fans, who for a day made Wankhede their own, Nepal ran them close. They started quickly off the block scoring almost a run every ball with opener Kushal Bhurtel slamming a 17-ball 29. Bhurtel along with fellow opener Aasif Sheikh got out in quick successions but captain Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee kept the team in the hunt adding 82 off just 54 balls for the third wicket.
All-rounder Sam Curran first got rid of Airee and then left-arm spinner Liam Dawson claimed the wicket of the Nepal captain to push their opponents on the backfoot. Lokesh Bam once again swung the match in Nepal's favour as he hit Jofra Archer for two consecutive sixes. That 18th over of the innings yielded 22 runs bringing down the equation to 24 of the last two overs.
Bam continued to punish English bowlers as he garnered 14 of the next over bowled by pacer Luke Wood. Curran finally held the nerves as Nepal, needing 10 of the last over, failed short by five runs finishing at 180//6.
Brief scores: England 184/7 in 20 ovs (J Bethell 55, H Brook 53; D Singh Airee 2/23) bt Nepal 180/6 in 20 ovs (D Singh Airee 44, L Bam 39 n.o; L Dawson 2/21).