IND vs ENG: How injury-hit England can line up in T20 World Cup semi-final match against India
Injuries to key players means that England may not just have to look at replacements but may also be forced to tweak the line up.
T20 World Cup 2022 latest news: India have the odds on their side with better form and a fitter squad when they face England in the all-or-nothing T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final clash in Adelaide on Thursday. England is set to be without star batsman Dawid Malan who got injured during their last Super 12 match against Sri Lanka. India’s opponents have another injury scare in star bowler Mark Wood, who complained of stiffness ahead of the match.
How injuries hurt England’s chances
Malan is a key player for England in the top order who is known for his consistency. The former world number one T20 batsman plays an anchoring role for the team batting at number 3 and has scored 1748 runs in T20I cricket with an average just under 40. Currently, he is the sixth best batsman in the world as per latest rankings.
His absence means that Jos Buttler-led England team will not just have to look at a replacement batsman but may also be forced to tweak the line up. The most likely replacement for Malan is Phil Salt, the only spare pure batsman in the England T20 World Cup squad. However, it is not sure if he will have a like-for-like role in the team.
How can England line up without Malan?
Salt is a good hitter of the ball and prefers to bat up the order. His most preferred slot is the opening position. However, that is not a guarantee with skipper Buttler and Alex Hales mainstay as the opener pair. England can look to play Salt in one of three different positions:
Batting at number 3 as a direct replacement for Malan’s responsibilities: England will be able to keep the momentum for other team members on going without having to make major changes in the batting order in such an advanced stage of the tournament.
However, the issue with this plan would be that Salt does not play at the one-down position often and has never played there for England before. England may want to push Ben Stokes or Moeen Ali up the order to keep the left hand-right hand advantage that they had at no. 3 with Malan.
Salt opening the innings for England in his preferred position: Salt is known to have a knack for getting the team to a fiery start as an opener with strike rates of over 150. If Salt opens, then it is Alex Hales who would likely give way. But Hales is in form and will likely retain the opening spot alongside Buttler. Such a change could backfire for England.
Playing down the order as a finisher: Salt could be a finisher for England as he has all the skills to pull it off. This would be similar to the transition seen with Matthew Wade for Australia. Salt has played in that role for England before and also scored a noteworthy fifty.
The other worry for England
Mark Wood has complained of stiffness but is likely to feature against India. However, England have two likely options in their reserves if they need a replacement. The first is the death overs specialist pacer Chris Jordan, who is also England’s highest T20 wicket taking seamer.
Jordan will also be looking for redemption after losing his regular spot in England’s T20 side at the last year’s T20 World Cup when he was torn apart by New Zealand in the semi-finals. The second best option would be left-arm swing bowler David Willey. He is a wicket taker and a good bowler for powerplay.
England face off against India in the second T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final on Thursday, November 9. The match will start from 1:30 pm (India time) at the Adelaide Oval in Australia.