England have never won a major international one-day tournament and, even allowing for home advantage, it will be a major surprise if they come out on top in the World Twenty20.
English one-day cricket has generally been based on the idea of the steady accumulation of runs, followed by a dash at the finish, and steady, containing bowling by medium-pacers who 'do a job' for their side.
What recent tournaments have shown is the need for wicket-taking bowlers in an era where economy rates are of limited value, given how aggressive modern batsmen are, and batsmen capable of scoring quickly, particularly in the early overs of an innings.
The loss through a knee injury of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, a dynamic seamer with an ability to get reverse swing and, on his day, a hard-hitting batsman, would appear to have robbed the hosts of a genuine match-winner.
Meanwhile, star batsman Kevin Pietersen's Achilles injury, which ruled the South Africa-born shotmaker out of the recent homne one-day series with the West Indies, also remains a concern.
However, albeit in a 50-over format and against opponents who didn't seem too keen to be on tour, England won that series 2-0.
And emerging England quick Stuart Broad, himself a handy lower order batsman, believes that Flintoff's absence need not spell the end of England's victory hopes.
"We've certainly won well without Fred in the past, but it's important we play good cricket," Broad said.
"He's obviously a very important player for us with bat and ball but players step up and take responsibility when he's not here, that's very important.
"We need to gain confidence of winning without Fred so when he comes back into the side there will be a lot of belief and confidence there.
"Fred is the sort of bowler who gets thrown the ball in an important situation but when he's not in the side someone else gets given the ball and takes responsibility."
But apart from three wins over New Zealand last year, England have not beaten a major nation in Twenty20 cricket since levelling their two match series against the West Indies at The Oval in June 2007.
England's only win at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa a few months later was against Zimbabwe, with the side losing to South Africa, New Zealand and India.
However, England's squad does now contain players with plenty of domestic Twenty20 experience in Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas and Essex wicket-keeper James Foster.
And England coach Andy Flower believes Ravi Bopara can provide the solution to the side's longtstanding problems at the top of the order in one-day cricket which have been an issue since the international retirement of Somerset left-hander Marcus Trescothick.
"You must be able to adapt, have strong hitters and top-class batsmen up front," Flower said in an interview with the Big Hitter magazine.
"Ravi Bopara has shown what a class player can do at the top of the order, which you need against the new ball - not just lower order sloggers thrown in."
England captain Andrew Strauss is sitting out this tournament on the grounds that he does not believe himself to be a good enough Twenty20 player, with the leadership passing to Paul Collingwood.
"I don't think it (Strauss's authority) will be diluted at all," Flower said.
"I still think ideally you would want one captain for all forms but that wasn't to be. We've just got to make the best of that situation."
English one-day cricket has generally been based on the idea of the steady accumulation of runs, followed by a dash at the finish, and steady, containing bowling by medium-pacers who 'do a job' for their side.
What recent tournaments have shown is the need for wicket-taking bowlers in an era where economy rates are of limited value, given how aggressive modern batsmen are, and batsmen capable of scoring quickly, particularly in the early overs of an innings.
The loss through a knee injury of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, a dynamic seamer with an ability to get reverse swing and, on his day, a hard-hitting batsman, would appear to have robbed the hosts of a genuine match-winner.
Meanwhile, star batsman Kevin Pietersen's Achilles injury, which ruled the South Africa-born shotmaker out of the recent homne one-day series with the West Indies, also remains a concern.
However, albeit in a 50-over format and against opponents who didn't seem too keen to be on tour, England won that series 2-0.
And emerging England quick Stuart Broad, himself a handy lower order batsman, believes that Flintoff's absence need not spell the end of England's victory hopes.
"We've certainly won well without Fred in the past, but it's important we play good cricket," Broad said.
"He's obviously a very important player for us with bat and ball but players step up and take responsibility when he's not here, that's very important.
"We need to gain confidence of winning without Fred so when he comes back into the side there will be a lot of belief and confidence there.
"Fred is the sort of bowler who gets thrown the ball in an important situation but when he's not in the side someone else gets given the ball and takes responsibility."
But apart from three wins over New Zealand last year, England have not beaten a major nation in Twenty20 cricket since levelling their two match series against the West Indies at The Oval in June 2007.
England's only win at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa a few months later was against Zimbabwe, with the side losing to South Africa, New Zealand and India.
However, England's squad does now contain players with plenty of domestic Twenty20 experience in Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas and Essex wicket-keeper James Foster.
And England coach Andy Flower believes Ravi Bopara can provide the solution to the side's longtstanding problems at the top of the order in one-day cricket which have been an issue since the international retirement of Somerset left-hander Marcus Trescothick.
"You must be able to adapt, have strong hitters and top-class batsmen up front," Flower said in an interview with the Big Hitter magazine.
"Ravi Bopara has shown what a class player can do at the top of the order, which you need against the new ball - not just lower order sloggers thrown in."
England captain Andrew Strauss is sitting out this tournament on the grounds that he does not believe himself to be a good enough Twenty20 player, with the leadership passing to Paul Collingwood.
"I don't think it (Strauss's authority) will be diluted at all," Flower said.
"I still think ideally you would want one captain for all forms but that wasn't to be. We've just got to make the best of that situation."
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