Twenty-four hours earlier, England themselves had slipped to a meek defeat against West Indies, after which Brook declared his batters had been “too careful” . But as he’s been demonstrating all winter long – including with his impetuous dismissal against Scotland – that boundary between aggression and recklessness remains hard for the skipper and his team to locate.

What an irony it would be, then, if Italy’s willingness to “run towards the danger” proves their best means to close the gap on their illustrious opponents. On paper, it is clearly not a fair contest, and a big-game performance from one of England’s big guns could yet leave us wondering what all the fuss has been about: between Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Brook himself, there are at least three batters who have yet to produce the statement performance that we all know lurks within them.

It certainly shouldn’t require the sort of lion-hearted, backs-to-the-wall qualification bid that has come to epitomise England’s football World Cup clashes with Italy. If Brook emerges in a bloodied headband, Paul Ince-style, to grind his team to their target, they might as well pack their bags and call it quits now. But so much of England’s long winter campaign has been played in the head. Right now, they seem a little stuck inside their own thoughts.

Whether it’s symptom or cause remains to be seen, but Jos Butter’s displays so far in this tournament have been rather anodyne. His first two innings, against Nepal and West Indies, produced a pair of 20s that ended at precisely the moment that he usually seizes control, and though he reached 4000 T20I runs against Scotland, he didn’t get past the second over. At the age of 35, this may be his last realistic chance to drive England deep into a World Cup campaign. The good news is that he should have plenty time left in the tournament to find his best form. The bad news for England will come if he can’t locate it.

High-quality legspin has been a vital weapon in the tournament to date, and no player was more important to Italy’s stunning win over Nepal than their own such weapon, Crishan Kalugamage.  His figures of 3 for 18 not only ripped the heart out of Nepal’s batting, they came just days after England’s mighty Adil Rashid had been beasted by the same opponents at a rate of 14 an over, on one of the worst days out of his 17-year career. In a game where his team have nothing to lose, but against opponents whose anxieties against spin have been a defining feature of their performances, the stage is his to give it a rip and see what happens.

Despite their nervy displays so far, England’s team remains broadly settled. Jamie Overton for Luke Wood has been their only change to date, and Overton’s form suggests he’ll continue. The reserves – Wood, Josh Tongue, Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed – were the only players to attend optional training on Sunday.

England: (probable) Phil Salt,  Jos Buttler (wk),  Jacob Bethell,  Tom Banton,  Harry Brook (capt),  Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson,  Jamie Overton,  Jofra Archer,  Adil Rashid

Harry Manenti’s first outing as captain, in the wake Wayne Madsen’s shoulder dislocation, could not have gone more swimmingly against Nepal. With Madsen still hors de combat, he will lead his team once more.

Italy: (probable)  Anthony Mosca,  Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts,  Marcus Campopiano,  Harry Manenti (capt),  Ben Manenti,  Grant Stewart,  Gian-Piero Meade (wk),  Jaspreet Singh,  Crishan Kalugamage,  Ali Hasan

[Cricinfo]