Ex-England star shares T20 World Cup verdict and opens up about OnlyFans partnership

Former England cricketer Tymal Mills has exclusively told Sports Mole that the current white-ball side are "heading in a good direction" after they reached the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup, where they suffered a narrow defeat to eventual champions India.

England went into the T20 World Cup after a woeful Ashes tour which saw Australia retain the urn after just 11 days of cricket and head coach Brendon McCullum was under huge pressure as a result.

However, England bounced back well at the World Cup thanks to impressive performances from the likes of Will Jacks, Jacob Bethell and captain Harry Brook and they will be looking to build on that now that the ECB have confirmed McCullum will be staying on.

Mills, who was part of the England squad that won the 2022 T20 World Cup, was impressed by their performances at this year's tournament and is feeling confident about the future of the side.

Tymal Mills delivers verdict on England's T20 World Cup performance

“It was disappointing not to go further, but losing to India in the semi-final was always going to be tough as they’re an amazing side," Mills told Sports Mole. "It was a great game, very high scoring.

"England have a lot of experienced white-ball players who are in demand around the world, so there’s plenty of talent. I think they put in a good performance overall.

"There’s a lot of talent and experience, especially with players involved in franchise leagues worldwide. I think they’re heading in a good direction."

England lost the semi-final by just seven runs as Bethell scored a magnificent hundred to keep their hopes of chasing a monstrous target of 254 alive.

There was some criticism of the Wankhede pitch for being too batter-friendly after a total of 73 boundaries and 499 runs were scored by the two sides, which was a World Cup record.

"It’s important to have a balance between bat and ball," Mills added. "You don’t want every game to be 230–240 like in some IPL seasons. That’s tough for bowlers.

"But if you perform well in those conditions, your impact is even bigger. If others are going at 11 or 12 an over and you go at seven or eight it really stands out. The game is skewed towards batters for entertainment, but bowlers just want a bit of balance.”

Tymal Mills opens up about OnlyFans partnership

Although he has not played for England since 2023, Mills remains a highly sought-after player on the T20 franchise circuit and he made headlines last year after becoming the first high-profile cricketer to partner with OnlyFans.

The online subscription platform is best known for hosting adult content, but the company has made a concerted effort to get more creators from the world of sport on board in recent years and Mills was among them.

When the deal was announced, he said he would give fans "a closer, more personal look into life as a professional cricketer" and that the content would be "completely safe".

Although the partnership has now come to an end, the 33-year-old says it was a "good experiment" that has allowed him to "develop what I'm doing off the field" as he plans for life after cricket.

And Mills would encourage other cricketers and athletes to go down a similar route, telling Sports Mole: “My OnlyFans deal has finished now, it ended last month. I enjoyed it, though, it was a good experiment and helped me develop what I’m doing off the field.

“I used some of the money to hire someone to help with my social media, which has helped grow my Instagram and TikTok. I’m trying to explore content without overdoing it. First and foremost, I want to be known as a cricketer and play as long as I can, but I’ll keep building things in the background.

“Yeah, why not other athletes and sportspeople try it? The main thing I’ve learned is that you only get opportunities by being brave. If you sit idle, nothing happens. Not everything works, but you often get rewarded for putting yourself out there.”

Tymal Mills was speaking at Sussex CCC’s media day ahead of the County Championship season