England aim for another semi-final special against India

Finals bring the glory, but it is semi-finals where England have really been at their best.

In the era of England's white-ball resurgence, the dates 11 July 2019 and 10 November 2022 stand out.

On both occasions, a World Cup trophy may have been won a few days later, but those were England's two most complete limited-overs performances in recent memory, possibly in their history.

The first was the eight-wicket demolition of Australia to reach the 2019 50-over World Cup final.

The second was the glorious night in Adelaide where England overcame a partisan crowd to thrash India by 10 wickets and reach the T20 World Cup final.

On Thursday, defending champions England return to Guyana – cricket’s most significant enclave on mainland South America – for the first time in 14 years, to face India again in their latest semi-final.

On both of those previous occasions, England began far from overwhelming favourites, only to emphatically turn the tide.

Australia had beaten Eoin Morgan’s side convincingly two weeks earlier at Lord’s. Before the meeting with India in 2022, talk was already all about the prospect of an all-Asian final against Pakistan.

If not the proverbial rollercoaster, England have sailed the highs and lows of the Caribbean seas during this tournament, leaving them second-favourites in a two-horse race once again.

They almost exited at the first stage, only scraping through at the expense of Scotland with a helping hand from their Ashes rivals.

Momentum and a feel-good factor has been built by the wins over Oman, Namibia and the United States, but how good is this England side?

West Indies are the only Test-playing nation they have beaten en route to the last four, albeit in impressive style.

This semi-final will define the answer to that question.

In contrast, India eased through amid the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. They were put front and centre in New York as the showpiece act in cricket’s attempt crack the States and progressed with little fuss.

On arrival in the Caribbean they continued serenely on their way - not truly tested since their tight win over Pakistan.

Sunday’s win over Australia was ominous, captain Rohit Sharma finding form with a fierce 92 from 41 balls. Someone could ask Josh Hazlewood on his flight home whether letting the India captain crash eight sixes was in Australia’s “best interests”.

The great Virat Kohli has only made double figures twice in this tournament and has a high score of 37. The fear for England is he cannot stay quiet much longer.

India go into this match with the advantage of having known they would travel to Guyana for a semi-final since the fixtures were announced, because of how this tournament has been built for Indian television.

England were set as second-place finishers in their group on Sunday night but could not travel until Tuesday morning when their destination was finally confirmed.

With hotels and flights as scarce as a Jasprit Bumrah long-hop, there will be no English media and very few fans in Georgetown.

India picked a squad with four spinners back in May, knowing a semi-final on one of the tournament’s slowest pitches was waiting.

Kuldeep Yadav did not play once on the seamer-friendly surfaces of the US, Yuzvendra Chahal is yet to feature at all.

One will certainly play, possibly two, given wrist-spinners have been by far the most effective option at Providence Stadium.

England could even be tempted to give a debut to their spare spinner, Tom Hartley. He had a long bowl before Sunday’s match against USA.

The other hot topic in the build-up to this match has been the weather – and the lack of a rain reserve day. If there is no result possible, India will progress courtesy of finishing top of their Super 8s group.

There are more than four hours of extra time available to fit in a match, however.

If England’s recent history in knockout matches is positive, India’s is anything but.

They have lost four of their past five semi-finals in white-ball World Cups, with their wait for a world title now into its 14th year.

The only semi-final they have won in that time was at home in the 50-over World Cup last year. That was followed by a collective freeze in the final as Australia romped to victory.

Defeat by England in Adelaide brought about serious questions of the direction of Indian white-ball cricket.

Coach Rahul Dravid, who will step down after this tournament, said England were helped by the fact many of their players had experience playing in Australia’s Big Bash – something India do not allow.

Little has changed since.

For England’s hierarchy, victory would allow England coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler to move on from their disappointment of last year’s 50-over World Cup once and for all.

One disappointment would be forgiven, if it came between two finals.

And whoever wins this semi-final will start the next match as favourites.

South Africa have their own World Cup past to deal with, having lost their past seven semi-finals before their win over Afghanistan.

England have lost one semi-final in recent times, against New Zealand, in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 – a date few remember.

Beat India and 27 June could stand alongside the others.

With football set to dominate the sporting headlines for the next two weeks, lose and it will simply be forgotten.