London - For England’s band of happy hitters, Sunday evening at Eden Gardens cannot come quickly enough.
Eoin Morgan’s side have been on fast-forward all tournament, and they have no intention of slowing down now. Victory over West Indies at one of the most evocative and chaotic venues in world cricket - even after a downgrade, it still holds 66,000 - and England will become the first nation to win the World Twenty20 twice.
For a country whose white-ball cricket has often felt like a mongrel in the shadow of purebred Test cricket, it would be a result to shout from the Bengali rooftops.
England’s impatience to get on with things makes sense, for this is not a team given to self-analysis. The talk is of trusting instincts and having fun. And it could just lead to one of the most memorable of all English sporting triumphs.
‘You dream of these opportunities as a kid to play a World Cup final,’ said Joe Root. ‘Every time over the past couple of days I’ve looked round the dressing room or the bus, the lads have just been smiling. Everyone is excited and we can’t wait to get out there.’
Content and unaffected, but with the competitive juices of a rutting stag, Root is the ideal spokesman for a group of cricketers who regard whacking the ball out of the park in the same way that previous generations viewed the glide to third man. It’s simply what you do.
It was Root who infused England with the belief that they were not in India simply to provide another chapter in the book of World Cup blowouts, hammering 83 off 44 balls to inspire the chase of 230 against South Africa.
And he was there again at the end of Wednesday’s semi-final thrashing of New Zealand in Delhi, grinning at one end while Jos Buttler hit the winning sixes at the other.
Not everything has gone smoothly, but then in Twenty20 it rarely does. Yet the manner in which England have ridden the bumps tells of their laid-back character - from coach Trevor Bayliss, through his assistant Paul Farbrace, down to Morgan and the rank and file.
‘We’ve stayed true to what we believe in and the way we want to play cricket,’ said Root. ‘That has been the most important thing for us. Having that belief in each other meant we could get that win against South Africa and then build confidence.’
And how. In five games, England have hit 516 runs in boundaries alone - 56 more than West Indies. Jason Roy has scored 130 in fours and sixes, and eight different players have cleared the ropes. Not bad for a team whose lack of IPL experience, we were told, would count against them.
The bowling has been just as revelatory. After the maulings by West Indies and South Africa in Mumbai, the seamers recovered their nerve in Delhi, and will have examined a grassy-looking strip at Eden Gardens with quiet satisfaction.
Even so, against a team who bat as powerfully and as deep as West Indies, each of England’s quartet of seamers will need to fulfil their roles like never before.
David Willey has been the new-ball swinger, while Chris Jordan’s yorkers have proved invaluable at the death, where Ben Stokes’s development has been one of the finds of the tournament. Liam Plunkett’s pace and presence have proved a formidable combination.
If Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid can emulate Afghanistan’s spinners in Nagpur last Sunday and stifle the West Indian middle order, England could be in business.
But, as India discovered in Mumbai on Thursday night, theory does not always equate to practice. The early removal of Chris Gayle, who battered England with a 47-ball century in both sides’ tournament opener on March 16, merely exposed India to the power of Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell.
After them come captain Darren Sammy and all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite, a giant oak of a man whose preferred port of call is the crowd beyond midwicket.
West Indian Test cricket may be in terminal decline, but - like their opponents - they have the chance to win the World Twenty20 for the second time.
And the thought of England will not frighten them. That group-game win was West Indies’ ninth out of 13 against England in all Twenty20 matches - the best record against them of any team.
But then Morgan’s side have grown used to upsetting expectations, and not thinking too much of it. As if determined to pare the task down to its barest bones, Root explained: ‘It’s about putting in one more strong performance and adapting to the situation.’
England refuse to complicate life. And they could be about to uncomplicate it all the way to the title of World Twenty20 champions.
@the_topspin
Daily Mail