T20 World Cup: Chris Jordan on that Carlos Braithwaite moment - and how England have got over it

In 2016, Chris Jordan put England on the brink of victory. Just minutes later, Carlos Brathwaite had come along and rather stolen the narrative.
Chris Jordan is looking forward to England's T20 World Cup campaign / Picture: GettyChris Jordan is looking forward to England's T20 World Cup campaign / Picture: Getty
Chris Jordan is looking forward to England's T20 World Cup campaign / Picture: Getty

Four consecutive sixes from the West Indian power-hitter saw England’s World Cup hopes dissolve in a matter of seconds. Ben Stokes was slumped on the floor. I was crying. And everyone else with half an eye on the cricket was asking the same question: How on earth do England come back from that?

"We tend to have a laugh about it," Jordan explained when asked about his 19th over. "When I bowled a dot ball on that final ball - it did...feel a lot closer than it ended up.”

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Perhaps that moment went on to shape this England team because four years later and a lot has changed. If teams are to be to be judged on how they bounce back - then this England side sit at the very, very top.

In 2019, England were on the right side of a white-ball final against New Zealand that redefined what it meant for a game to go down to the wire. Simply, the way they approached that final over was incomparable to the night in Eden Gardens. Not only had they learnt their lesson, but they had then gone on to execute it expertly on the biggest stage.

“We've come out stronger...as a unit," said Jordan, on what England have taken from the 2016 final. “One of the things that sticks out to me is...how quickly that last over went. You saw that going into the 2019 World Cup…the game start[ed] to slow down a little bit and everyone came up with an informed and correct decision.”

Like England, Jordan himself has gone from strength to strength in recent years as both a bowler and a leader. He is now England's record wicket-taker in the T20 format.

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Ahead of the 2020 T20 World Cup, England righly sit as one of the favourites - even with the tournament in the U.A.E.

Now, Eoin Morgan's side are aiming to become World Champions in both white-ball formats, starting their campaign on October 23, against the West Indies.

It will be a match in which Jordan will be making his first appearance for England after his switch from Sussex to Surrey. Next year, at the Oval, Jordan will lead Surrey's T20 side after impressing as the 'unofficial leader of England's white-ball attack'.

“It's a challenge I’m looking forward to,” he adds, when asked about his reasons for the switch away from Hove.

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"I’ve transitioned throughout my career to different roles. I want to challenge myself in that way.

"I’ve played in so many different conditions against - and with - so many different players. I feel like I’ve built up a good base of knowledge and it is about exploring that with a very talented Surrey team.”

Even without Jordan and Jofra Archer, who is out injured, Sussex will still be represented by his former teammate, Tymal Mills, who makes a welcome return to the international stage after a four-year absence.

Over the summer, Jordan and Mills excelled as the Southern Brave won the inaugural edition of the Hundred - both impressing in the death overs, a spell of play that Jordan explains will in most cases decide the outcome of a T20.

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“The format is one where you can bowl okay and get hit for a six and bowl not particularly well and take a wicket,” adds Jordan, honestly. “I try to judge myself on execution - whether I go for a boundary or take a wicket.

"That's my mindset and I just want to continue that. It is a role I relish and, if called upon, I'll be more than happy to do it."