Ryan Sidebottom is confident Trevor Bayliss’ current England squad have what it takes to emulate his 2010 ICC World Twenty20-winning side in India this month.
The Yorkshire seamer was part of Paul Collingwood’s XI that beat Australia in the 2010 final in the Caribbean to end England’s 35-year wait for an ICC limited-overs trophy.
And having seen the recent progress made under the influence of Paul Farbrace and Bayliss, Sidebottom believes the current team are capable of making history and becoming the first country to secure two sprint-format titles.
“I think it is a young and hungry team with a mixture of senior players. I am really keen,” the 38-year-old told ecb.co.uk.
“I think England can do something very special. It is obviously going to be tough in India but I think they have grown in confidence and have got the players and hitters.
“They have got all bases covered. It is going to be interesting to see.”
There are plenty of similarities between the title-winning side from the West Indies and the current crop in India.
Reece Topley and David Willey provide a left-arm option for Eoin Morgan, like Sidebottom did for Collingwood in 2010, while the current skipper also has two high-quality spinners in Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid aiming to follow in the footsteps of Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy.
England had a plethora of power hitters six years ago, including the likes of Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen, like Bayliss’ squad has now in Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Jos Buttler.
Even the form heading into the tournament bares a resemblance.
Collingwood’s outfit won four of their 12 T20 internationals before the 2010 event, including a defeat to a Lumb and Kieswetter-inspired England Lions, while Morgan’s team were twice defeated by South Africa last month.
But Sidebottom is refusing to read into those losses and believes England, who won six consecutive T20 internationals before that series, are on the up in the shortest format.
“I know they have lost to South Africa in the last two Twenty20s, but don’t read too much into that. Look at the way we played in 2009, we were absolutely garbage,” he said.
“T20 is a tough game to call. Momentum might be in your favour but if someone has a blinder on the day, they can change a game or win a game for you, like (Chris) Morris, (AB) De Villiers and (Hashim) Amla did.
“I wouldn’t worry about that too much. It is about looking ahead, growing in confidence and being positive, like they have done. We have seen a new, revived England under Farbrace and the new coach. A new positive attitude.”
Morgan is the only World T20 winner in the current 15-man squad in India and Sidebottom believes he will be vital.
“His experience in T20 and playing regular IPL cricket and Big Bash, he will have drawn plenty of experience from that,” the Yorkshireman added.
Source: ECB