Mahela Jayawardene Backs A Southern Brave Left-Arm Pacer To Be Included In T20 World Cup Squad For England
Southern Brave won the inaugural season of The Hundred beating the Birmingham Phoenix in the final.
Tymal Mills, the English pacer, played a major role in Southern Brave’s victory in the inaugural season of The Hundred. Southern Brave became the inaugural champion of the tournament after smashing Birmingham Phoenix in the final.
Mills was very impressive throughout the tournament and their coach Mahela Jayawardene seems optimistic regarding his presence in the T20 World Cup squad. The left-arm pacer picked up 8 wickets in 10 matches. However, it wasn’t his wickets that matters but his economy that impressed their coach.
Mills conceded only 1.11 runs per ball (RPB) in the tournament after delivering 187 balls overall. Chris Jordan and Mills mostly bowled in the death overs and made sure that batsmen remained at backfoot.
Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan cricketer and Southern Brave coach feels that with Jofra Archer ruled out of the T20 World Cup, it will be a great opportunity to pick Mills in the T20 World Cup squad. He also feels that Mills could turn out to be a surprise pack for England. Mahela believes that having Tymal Mills in the squad could open up a lot of options for England with the World Cup being scheduled in the UAE.
“I’d be disappointed if he’s not on that plane for the World Cup.”
“You have some amazing talent in CJ but obviously Jofra [Archer] is not going to be available for the World Cup and I think CJ and him [Mills] had a very good partnership for us. It gives England a lot of good options going into the World Cup, especially in the UAE as well,” Jayawardene said according to ESPNCricinfo.
Tymal Mills didn’t have a great international career as his injuries kept him away from the game most of the time. But his recent performance in The Hundred could open his doors for the England team at the international level. Also, Mahela feels that “a healthy” Mills will be an asset for team England.
“Throughout the comp he’s been fantastic. In the last two games, the eliminator and the final, I think he bowled 40 balls for 20-odd runs and didn’t give away a single boundary. That shows the quality of T – a healthy Tymal Mills is always going to be an asset. In the shorter format of the game he knows his skills and it’s a hard skill that he’s executing,” the former Sri Lankan cricketer added.
