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]

UAE must be feeling confident after their win over Canada. It came in Delhi, where they play their remaining two group games as well. But they too rely heavily on Canada beating New Zealand. If New Zealand beat Canada, which is more likely, UAE will have to pull off a series of miracles. They will have to beat Afghanistan and then South Africa, who have been unbeaten so far. And they will have to do so by such margins that their net run rate goes above New Zealand’s. That gap, at the moment, is huge.

So, how do Afghanistan and UAE proceed? Perhaps, as players often say, by taking one game at a time.

Ibrahim Zadran is a perfect foil for the attacking Rahmanullah Gurbaz. While the role of the anchor in T20 cricket is diminishing every second, things are different at T20 World Cups. Moreover, Zadran has upped his intent of late. Two of his four 50-plus scores since October came at a strike rate of more than 150. However, he has managed only 22 runs off as many balls in two outings so far. Afghanistan expect much more from him.

Born in Bihar, graduated from Jamia Millia Islamia and now playing for UAE, Sohaib Khan showed against Canada how destructive he can be. His 29-ball 51, laden with four fours and four sixes, turned UAE’s fortunes around. But this was not the first time his hitting prowesses were on display. At the Rising Stars Asia Cup in November, he had smashed 63 off41 balls against India A in Doha. In that game, he had taken 24 runs off eight balls against Suyash Sharma. Can he repeat those heroics on Monday?

Both teams are likely to go with unchanged XIs.

Afghanistan (probable):  Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk),  Ibrahim Zadran,  Gulbadin Naib,  Sediqullah Atal,  Darwish Rasooli,  Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi,  Rashid Khan (capt),  Mujeeb Ur Rahman,  Noor Ahmad,  Fazalhaq Farooqi

UAE (probable):  Aryansh Sharma (wk),  Muhammad Waseem (capt),  Alishan Sharafu,  Mayank Kumar,  Harshit Kaushik,  Sohaib Khan,  Muhammad Arfan,  Muhammad Farooq,  Haider Ali,  Junaid Siddique,  Muhammad Jawadullah

[Cricinfo]