A dilemma for the England selectors

[Hasan123]

I was reading an article about England and there options for opening pair for T20s. In 28 of his last 29 T20s Jos Buttler has averaged 46 with a strike rate 153 by opening the innings. It's clear he is suited to opening the batting in T20s. Eoin Morganhas a strike rate of 225 in the death overs in the last 2 years in T20s.

Whilst Jason Roy has done brilliantly in ODIs as an opener , since 2017 he averages 24 in T20s. For a player of his ability he should be doing better. He has been dismissed 10 times by spinners in 99 balls in T20s since 2017. Compare his record to Buttler and it's a no contest.

Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton are 2 other players who could be options to open for England. Furthermore Dawid Malan is one of the top ranked T20 players so England will want to reward his good form.

For me after reading these stats , Jos Buttler has to open. England have to make a harsh decision in regards to Banton,Roy,Bairstow, and Malan as all are top order players and their middle order seems to be set with Morgan , Stokes , Ali, and their endless bowling all rounders.

A tough selection dilemma awaits Eoin Morgan, Chris Silverwood, and the English selectors.

What would you do if you had a say in selection? How should England line up their batting resources for the World T20.

 

[sindhiboy]

Butler has always been a finisher, yes he has been successful, but dont think they should open with him. Spinners come later in the innings anyways.

Lets see how banton performs in t20is, he has not been impressive in odis, he may not be read for internaitonal cricket just yet.

Roy and bairstow are too dynamic in limited overs, they are the best opening combination for england. malan is a good back up opener

 

[Hasan123]

Butler has always been a finisher, yes he has been successful, but dont think they should open with him. Spinners come later in the innings anyways.

Lets see how banton performs in t20is, he has not been impressive in odis, he may not be read for internaitonal cricket just yet.

Roy and bairstow are too dynamic in limited overs, they are the best opening combination for england. malan is a good back up opener

Buttler is performing in T20s as an opener. There are other players who fit the middle order more. Plus if Buttler is batting at 5/6 he may not have enough overs to do anything significant.

 

[sindhiboy]

Buttler is performing in T20s as an opener. There are other players who fit the middle order more. Plus if Buttler is batting at 5/6 he may not have enough overs to do anything significant.

but where does that leave roy and bairstow? bairstow would have to bat no. 5 or no .6.

i dont see banton or malan being the first choice, they will only be injury replacements.

its just a matter of changing the batting order, so not too much of a dilemma for english selectors

 

[HitWicket]

Roy
Buttler
Malan
Morgan
Stokes
Bairstow
Moeen
T Curran
Archer
Jordan
Rashid

The team I'd be looking at ahead of the WT20 next year.

 

[Titan24]

Roy
Buttler
Malan
Morgan
Stokes
Bairstow
Moeen
T Curran
Archer
Jordan
Rashid

The team I'd be looking at ahead of the WT20 next year.

I think Buttler is more equipped to hand pressure finishes than Bairstow which is what no 6 position will require.

 

[Mamoon]

It’s a wonderful problem to have. I’d drop Malan because he is not as good as some of the others.

In today’s era, you are either good at Limited Overs cricket or you are not. The players that have helped England win the World Cup should be persisted with for the WT20s, but their positions/role need to be tweaked.

Roy
Buttler
Bairstow
Morgan
Stokes
Banton

This should be the top 6. Roy’s low average is not a problem because it is a power packed lineup and he doesn’t waste balls. Even if he lasts for 3 overs, he will take England to a flier.

Buttler should continue to open because he is an incredible batsman in this format and you want your best players to face max balls.

Bairstow and Morgan should be at 3 and 4 because both have the ability to hit the spinners for big sixes.

I would keep Stokes at 5 in this format as well, since he is the perfect player to resurrect the innings and provide a finishing touch.

If England are 40-3 in 6 overs, you would want Stokes at the crease.

Banton is underutilized at 6, but his time at the top will come. For now, he should be used as a pinch-hitter at 6.

Add Curran brothers, Archer, Rashid, Wood etc. and this an incredible T20 side. Definitely the best in the world along with India, and by considerable distance.

 

[tyron_woodley]

no root? root will definitely play. as if englsnd will drop their golden child even if he isn't suited for t20.

 

[HitWicket]

no root? root will definitely play. as if englsnd will drop their golden child even if he isn't suited for t20.

Root was rested from the T20 squad in NZ and has now been dropped for the squad in SA.

 

[Hasan123]

but where does that leave roy and bairstow? bairstow would have to bat no. 5 or no .6.

i dont see banton or malan being the first choice, they will only be injury replacements.

its just a matter of changing the batting order, so not too much of a dilemma for english selectors

Roy doesn't have a good T20 record. Of course this can change but it does leave you with a dilemma. Also he can be vulnerable against spin early on.

Malan has been in excellent form in T20s. Would be harsh to leave him out.

 

[Hasan123]

It’s a wonderful problem to have. I’d drop Malan because he is not as good as some of the others.

In today’s era, you are either good at Limited Overs cricket or you are not. The players that have helped England win the World Cup should be persisted with for the WT20s, but their positions/role need to be tweaked.

Roy
Buttler
Bairstow
Morgan
Stokes
Banton

This should be the top 6. Roy’s low average is not a problem because it is a power packed lineup and he doesn’t waste balls. Even if he lasts for 3 overs, he will take England to a flier.

Buttler should continue to open because he is an incredible batsman in this format and you want your best players to face max balls.

Bairstow and Morgan should be at 3 and 4 because both have the ability to hit the spinners for big sixes.

I would keep Stokes at 5 in this format as well, since he is the perfect player to resurrect the innings and provide a finishing touch.

If England are 40-3 in 6 overs, you would want Stokes at the crease.

Banton is underutilized at 6, but his time at the top will come. For now, he should be used as a pinch-hitter at 6.

Add Curran brothers, Archer, Rashid, Wood etc. and this an incredible T20 side. Definitely the best in the world along with India, and by considerable distance.

This makes the most sense. This what I would go with too. Morgan at 5 though as he is a better finisher in T20s than Stokes who is better at rebuilding.

 

[Justcrazy]

Roy and Bairstow should open , butler can be used as floater depending upon the situation.

 

[shah_1]

Great problem

Best T20 batting line up in the world

 

[Ab Fan]

It’s a wonderful problem to have. I’d drop Malan because he is not as good as some of the others.

In today’s era, you are either good at Limited Overs cricket or you are not. The players that have helped England win the World Cup should be persisted with for the WT20s, but their positions/role need to be tweaked.

Roy
Buttler
Bairstow
Morgan
Stokes
Banton

This should be the top 6. Roy’s low average is not a problem because it is a power packed lineup and he doesn’t waste balls. Even if he lasts for 3 overs, he will take England to a flier.

Buttler should continue to open because he is an incredible batsman in this format and you want your best players to face max balls.

Bairstow and Morgan should be at 3 and 4 because both have the ability to hit the spinners for big sixes.

I would keep Stokes at 5 in this format as well, since he is the perfect player to resurrect the innings and provide a finishing touch.

If England are 40-3 in 6 overs, you would want Stokes at the crease.

Banton is underutilized at 6, but his time at the top will come. For now, he should be used as a pinch-hitter at 6.

Add Curran brothers, Archer, Rashid, Wood etc. and this an incredible T20 side. Definitely the best in the world along with India, and by considerable distance.

Good XI. No Woakes in that playing XI??

 

[Hasan123]

Buttler looks a very good fit as opener in this format. I would stick with it. He will be playing their in the IPL more than likely so he will be game ready for the role.

 

[sindhiboy]

Buttler looks a very good fit as opener in this format. I would stick with it. He will be playing their in the IPL more than likely so he will be game ready for the role.

aaand he is gone.

 

[Hasan123]

aaand he is gone.

I think his role is to get off to a flier so with that he will be dismissed cheaply at times.

 

[sindhiboy]

I think his role is to get off to a flier so with that he will be dismissed cheaply at times.

the thing is butler opening means they dont have finisher, moeen is useless with the bat. they have stokes, but taking into account his workload, he wont play every game.

or you could argue you dont need a finisher for t20s

 

[Hasan123]

the thing is butler opening means they dont have finisher, moeen is useless with the bat. they have stokes, but taking into account his workload, he wont play every game.

or you could argue you dont need a finisher for t20s

Morgan has a strike rate of 225 in the death overs in the last 2 years. He is the finisher it seems. Banton is another option as well.

 

[sindhiboy]

Morgan has a strike rate of 225 in the death overs in the last 2 years. He is the finisher it seems. Banton is another option as well.

but he is still a top order batsman and can get out quickly before the death overs.

banton is also a top order batsman

 

[Hasan123]

but he is still a top order batsman and can get out quickly before the death overs.

banton is also a top order batsman

Morgan has batted at 6 at the start of his international career so he is very familiar with playing as a finisher.

There is no space for Banton at the top of the order so he will have to settle for the middle order.

 

[shah_1]

They picked Joe Denly

I rather see Banton/Malan play top of the order and Butler in the middle

 

[shah_1]

Joe Denly, Joe Root, Malan, Hales and Banton all are specialist top order batsmen in T20 cricket. Buttler can open and play in the middle whereas they can't do both things.

Butler needs to come down and play one of them at top and team is sorted so Roy, ......., Bairstow, Butler, Morgan, Stokes

 

[minamino]

Malan should have chosen SA tbh

 

[Mobashir]

Buttler should not open the innings in T20's or any format. My England XI will be one of these two with just one player changing: Root or Banton in the final XI :
Jason Roy
Jonny Bairstow
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Eoin Morgan
Jos Buttler
Moeen Ali
Chris Woakes
Adil Rashid
Mark Wood
Jofra Archer


Jason Roy
Jonny Bairstow
Ben Stokes
Eoin Morgan
Jos Buttler
Tom Banton
Moeen Ali
Chris Woakes
Adil Rashid
Mark Wood
Jofra Archer

 

[shamaan]

Roy
Bantom
Basitrow
Stokes
Morgan
Buttler
Ali
Woakes
Rashid
Wood
Archer

 

[Hasan123]

Jason Roy looking out of form, Bairstow surely wants to open, continued questions about Joe Root exclusion, and Sam Billings showing form in ODIs yet not getting a look in. It looks like England still have some nice headaches that they will want to answer before the World T20.

 

[Mamoon]

Jason Roy looking out of form, Bairstow surely wants to open, continued questions about Joe Root exclusion, and Sam Billings showing form in ODIs yet not getting a look in. It looks like England still have some nice headaches that they will want to answer before the World T20.

Joe Root brings nothing to the table in this format. He was great for England in 2016 but it is hard to accommodate him now.

You can potentially replace Malan with him who has been great in T20Is but his ceiling is not very high, but it would be incredibly harsh to drop him now.

On a good day, Root will get you a 70 (40) but on a bad day, he is going to struggle to break the shackles and the 40 (30) type scores will not help England.

Billings is actually a better option because of his superior six hitting ability.

A team like England does not need a touch player and an accumulator when they are overloaded with powerful ball strikers.

As far as Roy vs Bairstow is concerned, Bairstow is a better all-round batsman and can play both spin and pace equally well.

Both batsmen are extremely dangerous in PP overs, but Roy gets bogged down against spin. That is why it will not be a feasible option to play him in the middle-order because he gets the team off to a flyer against the pacers upfront when he is in the zone.

I think England should not overcomplicate their selection process which can happen when you have too many options.

They need to keep it simple - pick your 7 best explosive batsmen and then pick your 4 best bowlers.

The fact that they have a 5th bowling option (Stokes) is also one of their 7 best explosive batsmen is obviously a great luxury.

Moreover, their two keepers are also among their 7 best batsmen, so they don’t need to weaken their lineup for bowling or keeping options which is obviously a great position to be in.

I think they played one bowler too many yesterday. They are inhibiting their potential by playing the Curran brothers and Jordan in the same team.

Sam Curran cannot be dropped so one of Tom Curran or Jordan needs to sit out for Banton or Billings.

They need to extract 4 overs from Stokes instead of playing another bowling all-rounder.

 

[Hasan123]

Joe Root brings nothing to the table in this format. He was great for England in 2016 but it is hard to accommodate him now.

You can potentially replace Malan with him who has been great in T20Is but his ceiling is not very high, but it would be incredibly harsh to drop him now.

On a good day, Root will get you a 70 (40) but on a bad day, he is going to struggle to break the shackles and the 40 (30) type scores will not help England.

Billings is actually a better option because of his superior six hitting ability.

A team like England does not need a touch player and an accumulator when they are overloaded with powerful ball strikers.

As far as Roy vs Bairstow is concerned, Bairstow is a better all-round batsman and can play both spin and pace equally well.

Both batsmen are extremely dangerous in PP overs, but Roy gets bogged down against spin. That is why it will not be a feasible option to play him in the middle-order because he gets the team off to a flyer against the pacers upfront when he is in the zone.

I think England should not overcomplicate their selection process which can happen when you have too many options.

They need to keep it simple - pick your 7 best explosive batsmen and then pick your 4 best bowlers.

The fact that they have a 5th bowling option (Stokes) is also one of their 7 best explosive batsmen is obviously a great luxury.

Moreover, their two keepers are also among their 7 best batsmen, so they don’t need to weaken their lineup for bowling or keeping options which is obviously a great position to be in.

I think they played one bowler too many yesterday. They are inhibiting their potential by playing the Curran brothers and Jordan in the same team.

Sam Curran cannot be dropped so one of Tom Curran or Jordan needs to sit out for Banton or Billings.

They need to extract 4 overs from Stokes instead of playing another bowling all-rounder.

I think Root can do the same job that Malan is doing but he is a better player as well. Furthermore the next World T20 is India and Joe Root had a good tournament there last time. It's something to consider.

I don't think Jason Roy should play in the middle order. But he is out of form so I would like to see Bairstow opening and maybe Roy would have to be dropped as you cannot drop Buttler as an opener.


I think England like having a long batting line up so they will probably stick with have 3 bowling all rounders.

Don't you think Woakes should come into consideration? I think he is a fabulous ODI player and I don't see why he do well in T20s.

 

[Mamoon]

I think Root can do the same job that Malan is doing but he is a better player as well. Furthermore the next World T20 is India and Joe Root had a good tournament there last time. It's something to consider.

I don't think Jason Roy should play in the middle order. But he is out of form so I would like to see Bairstow opening and maybe Roy would have to be dropped as you cannot drop Buttler as an opener.


I think England like having a long batting line up so they will probably stick with have 3 bowling all rounders.

Don't you think Woakes should come into consideration? I think he is a fabulous ODI player and I don't see why he do well in T20s.

Woakes was really poor with the ball in the handful of T20Is that he played, but he hasn’t played one in about 5 years and he is a much improved bowler now and understands his game really well. There is no doubt that if he plays now he will do well.

However, he will be 32 in a few months and has a dodgy knee. England need to manage his workload because he is vital to the Test and ODI teams. There is probably no chance of him featuring in T20Is again.

 

[Hasan123]

Woakes was really poor with the ball in the handful of T20Is that he played, but he hasn’t played one in about 5 years and he is a much improved bowler now and understands his game really well. There is no doubt that if he plays now he will do well.

However, he will be 32 in a few months and has a dodgy knee. England need to manage his workload because he is vital to the Test and ODI teams. There is probably no chance of him featuring in T20Is again.

ODIs won't mean much until about 2022, they can rest him in those games and play him in T20s. I'm sure he would do better than Tom Curran and Chris Jordan.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Having such a high quality range of players available and having a strong domestic structure and quality games have brought then to this stage where there's 2-3 players for every spot trying to get in.

A very good space to be in and everyone trying hardest to be the best.

 

[Hasan123]

The dilemma continues. Nasser and Rob Key want England to find a better role for Stokes. Malan did not have a great series until the last game.

Morgan has made tough calls before, let's see what he does in the next few months.

 

[King_Kohli]

England management Cost the Test series.
Morgan captaincy cost the T20 series, wrong batting order.

 

[Amjid Javed]

England need to get rid of roy and bairstow. Hales needs to be recalled and stokes needs to bat higher up the order.

 

[shamaan]

England should try this line up.i would get Stokes but the order bring billings and moen into the team.



Roy
Buttler
Stokes
Baistrow
Morgan
Billings
Moen ali
Jordan
Archer
Rashid
Wood