Brendon McCullum is saving his job one T20 match at a time ...Middle East

TRENT BRIDGE — England may be in a state of crisis after a tumultuous few weeks that ended with Ben Stokes retiring from international cricket midway through a Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Yet back at the same venue a week and a half later, the T20 team underlined they are perhaps the best in the world right now after their 125-run mauling of India completed an 18th victory in their last 21 completed matches in the format.

This is in stark contrast to England’s form in Tests, where they have won just two in nine, and ODIs, where they have won six and lost 12 of their past 18 games.

If they can win the final two matches of this series at Bristol on Thursday and Southampton on Saturday, they will overtake India, who have won the past two T20 World Cups, at the top of the world rankings.

But why are England so good in cricket’s shortest format and so bad in the other two?

England win by 125 runs! pic.twitter.com/0ccGVIgRar

It is a quirk that is likely to save head coach Brendon McCullum’s job in the short-term given the pressure the New Zealander has been under since last winter’s calamitous Ashes campaign in Australia.

After all, England’s run to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in India earlier this year, where they lost a closely-fought, thrilling last-four encounter with the hosts, already gave him a stay of execution following the horror of the Ashes. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s chief executive Richard Gould cited the run in that tournament, and McCullum’s willingness to embrace change, as two big reasons for sticking with the coach this summer.

The 2-1 Test series defeat to New Zealand, sealed with that loss at Trent Bridge last month, piled the pressure back on McCullum. Yet wins like this one against India, with England now 2-0 up in the series, offer more reasons for the ECB to stand by their man.

Key may not be so lucky, after his failure to properly codify England’s midnight curfew before Stokes’ night out in London following the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. That error of judgement from the Test captain, and the ECB’s mishandling of it, sparked a psychodrama that rocked the governing body – and the whole of English cricket – to the core.

It feels like somebody needs to pay not just for that but the terrible drop-off in Test form. It seemingly won’t be McCullum.

But why the disparity between T2Os and everything else?

One simple reason would be that this is the format England’s players play the most. Unlike in Tests, where Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell went into the series against New Zealand having not played red-ball cricket for six months, this group are well grooved and battle-hardened in T20s.

Nine of the XI who took on India in the first two matches of this series have experience of playing in the Indian Premier League.

In terms of 50-over cricket, England’s players simply don’t play this at domestic level given the county One Day Cup clashes with The Hundred. No wonder their form has dropped off.

So simply, England’s players are more experienced and have proved themselves in T20’s toughest domestic proving ground – the IPL.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir said as much when asked by The i Paper why England are so good at T20s right now and so bad at everything else.

“I think that is what Brendon McCullum needs to answer,” he said.

“I can’t answer on Brendon’s part, but yes, I’ve always believed that England is a proper white-ball team. The quality batters they’ve got, the quality bowling. Even when you go back to that semi-final against India at Mumbai, we won the game by five runs, so obviously we knew how dangerous England can be.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why they also play high risk-high reward, and they’ve also got the results in the last 21 T20s. And the IPL? I’m sure, absolutely, because when you’ve got Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jofra and all those guys, obviously they’re a high-quality side with so much experience.”

That England rested Archer for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand following his exertions in this year’s IPL for Rajasthan Royals went down badly in many quarters.

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Fans, and most players, believe Test cricket is still the gold standard of international cricket – and it is.

But England’s lack of preparation for Test series also hinders them, whereas in T20s it is less of a factor, especially when so many of the players have so much experience and muscle memory from their various franchise jaunts.

It is why this team are so good and why their stellar form is likely to keep McCullum in his job until the end of his contract at the end of next year. It is just a shame the next T20 World Cup isn’t until 2028.

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