South Africa tour of England 2022 (incl. 2 T20Is vs Ireland)

[wasteyouryouth]

There's a whole lot of stuff that's quite tricky at the moment when it comes to picking this England side.

Some of the team's senior players have either retired or ceased to perform meaningfully, which means roles are going unfulfilled. And with a fresh era of captaincy, it's worth going back to the drawing board entirely, but I feel as if England are trying to stumble over the line with the 2023 World Cup and then rebuild. And as a result of that there are bodges happening like moving Joe Root down to four today which is very galaxy-brained. Then when you want to find replacements, you get the problem that no players outside the England team have played a representative List A match since 2019, so you're just guessing whether they can do each role.

There are positives of course: David Willey has shown himself to be an excellent firefighter with the bat and also a great top-and-tail bowler (not necessarily a role I've previously defined, but he fills it), and Reece Topley is a superb wicket-taking seamer. So there are big positives even if the team doesn't fit together yet. I'll try and put them together into a team that might be able to fall over the line for the 2023 World Cup before making bigger changes:

	Player	Batting Role	Fielding Role	Notes
1	Jason Roy	Top-order hitter	-	Has been playing poorly for some time; probably has 2023 as his finish line.
2	Jonny Bairstow	Top-order hitter	-	Arguably England's best-ever ODI batter; keeps this role as long as he wants.
3	Joe Root	Dynamic accumulator	-	The best in the world at this role which is all about scoring fast while avoiding risk.
4	Jos Buttler	Middle-overs hitter	Wicket-keeper	I'd like to see him in an entirely new role where he flogs the bowling through the middle overs.
5	Phil Salt	Late-overs hitter	-	An exceedingly gifted boundary hitter, and should take on Jason Roy's role in due course.
6	Liam Livingstone	Late-overs hitter	Stock spinner	A player with such a high ceiling; definitely needs a long rope.
7	Lewis Gregory	Late-overs hitter	New ball seamer	Gregory was terrific against Pakistan last year, and can definitely do these roles.
8	David Willey	Firefighter	Top-and-tail bowler	Willey is the perfect batter when the team needs a crucial 30 runs or so. And excellent with the ball.
9	Brydon Carse	-	Stock seamer	Not sure about this pick; need someone to hit the deck in the middle overs. Either Overton could work.
10	Adil Rashid	-	Wicket-taking spinner	The 2023 World Cup is his finish line as a player; Rehan Ahmed is being readied as his replacement.
11	Reece Topley	-	Wicket-taking seamer	Keep this man fit at all costs. He's an elite bowler, and the only thing holding him back is his body.

I'd actually like to see Ollie Pope get a chance in the middle order.

 

[Aislabie]

I'd actually like to see Ollie Pope get a chance in the middle order.

I wouldn't be opposed to that either.

I want Phil Salt in the side though, so I'd bring him in at Roy's expense.

 

[Ed Smith]

There's a whole lot of stuff that's quite tricky at the moment when it comes to picking this England side.

Some of the team's senior players have either retired or ceased to perform meaningfully, which means roles are going unfulfilled. And with a fresh era of captaincy, it's worth going back to the drawing board entirely, but I feel as if England are trying to stumble over the line with the 2023 World Cup and then rebuild. And as a result of that there are bodges happening like moving Joe Root down to four today which is very galaxy-brained. Then when you want to find replacements, you get the problem that no players outside the England team have played a representative List A match since 2019, so you're just guessing whether they can do each role.

There are positives of course: David Willey has shown himself to be an excellent firefighter with the bat and also a great top-and-tail bowler (not necessarily a role I've previously defined, but he fills it), and Reece Topley is a superb wicket-taking seamer. So there are big positives even if the team doesn't fit together yet. I'll try and put them together into a team that might be able to fall over the line for the 2023 World Cup before making bigger changes:

	Player	Batting Role	Fielding Role	Notes
1	Jason Roy	Top-order hitter	-	Has been playing poorly for some time; probably has 2023 as his finish line.
2	Jonny Bairstow	Top-order hitter	-	Arguably England's best-ever ODI batter; keeps this role as long as he wants.
3	Joe Root	Dynamic accumulator	-	The best in the world at this role which is all about scoring fast while avoiding risk.
4	Jos Buttler	Middle-overs hitter	Wicket-keeper	I'd like to see him in an entirely new role where he flogs the bowling through the middle overs.
5	Phil Salt	Late-overs hitter	-	An exceedingly gifted boundary hitter, and should take on Jason Roy's role in due course.
6	Liam Livingstone	Late-overs hitter	Stock spinner	A player with such a high ceiling; definitely needs a long rope.
7	Lewis Gregory	Late-overs hitter	New ball seamer	Gregory was terrific against Pakistan last year, and can definitely do these roles.
8	David Willey	Firefighter	Top-and-tail bowler	Willey is the perfect batter when the team needs a crucial 30 runs or so. And excellent with the ball.
9	Brydon Carse	-	Stock seamer	Not sure about this pick; need someone to hit the deck in the middle overs. Either Overton could work.
10	Adil Rashid	-	Wicket-taking spinner	The 2023 World Cup is his finish line as a player; Rehan Ahmed is being readied as his replacement.
11	Reece Topley	-	Wicket-taking seamer	Keep this man fit at all costs. He's an elite bowler, and the only thing holding him back is his body.

You know some stuff is going down when @Aislabie gets the tables out...

 

[wasteyouryouth]

#MorganOut

 

[Bevab]

Quinny was looking really good out there, a shame that rain plays spoilsport.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Bairstow and Mo having some fun tonight.

 

[Paranoid Kendroid]

Imagine picking a fifer in T20Is but the opposition still puts up a total above 230

 

[Bevab]

Phehlukwayo’s relative decline is saddening to see. He used to be a promising all-rounder once with the ball at least.

Rossouw’s homecoming also ends abruptly.

Post automatically merged: Jul 27, 2022

Bairstow and Mo having some fun tonight.

How does Stokes even get back into this lineup? The only one I can see being axed for him is surprisingly Roy.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Phehlukwayo’s relative decline is saddening to see. He used to be a promising all-rounder once with the ball at least.

Rossouw’s homecoming also ends abruptly.

Post automatically merged: Jul 27, 2022

How does Stokes even get back into this lineup? The only one I can see being axed for him is surprisingly Roy.

Difficult to know who will be fit for the T20i WC. Curran, Livo or Moeen would seem the most likely. Bairstow, in place of Roy, back up to open could be one option. Roy has looked really scratchy the last few matches. He was averaging 30 @ 147 in 2021 though.

 

[Bevab]

Difficult to know who will be fit for the T20i WC. Curran, Livo or Moeen would seem the most likely. Bairstow, in place of Roy, back up to open could be one option. Roy has looked really scratchy the last few matches. He was averaging 30 @ 147 in 2021 though.

I think all three players that you suggested are better for this England lineup than Stokes. Mo offers the offie option and is really useful against spinners, Livo can go aggressive from ball one and Curran is a better bowler than Stokes in T20s. They’re all better in a middle order role than Stokes too.

I’ll always go back to my longstanding opinion that Stokes the T20 cricketer is overrated due to his exploits in the other two formats but I think he would work as an opener. He was good for Rajasthan in the few games he played there as a match-winner and having that sort of player is always useful in the lineup if Roy continues to flounder.

Post automatically merged: Jul 27, 2022

This Stubbs bloke can sure hit them hard.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

I think all three players that you suggested are better for this England lineup than Stokes. Mo offers the offie option and is really useful against spinners, Livo can go aggressive from ball one and Curran is a better bowler than Stokes in T20s. They’re all better in a middle order role than Stokes too.

I’ll always go back to my longstanding opinion that Stokes the T20 cricketer is overrated due to his exploits in the other two formats but I think he would work as an opener. He was good for Rajasthan in the few games he played there as a match-winner and having that sort of player is always useful in the lineup if Roy continues to flounder.

Post automatically merged: Jul 27, 2022

This Stubbs bloke can sure hit them hard.

Stubbs playing a blinder.

My opinion on Stokes is he's never had a clear role. England just stick him in the middler order (his record at 5, is solid). He rarely plays T20i and pretty much only plays T20 in the IPL - for years. He's played 10 matches in the last six years.

Buttler has played twice a many matches (less than a year older). I wouldn't be surprised if, by the time he moved up the order to become the GOAT opener, he'd played as much more than Stokes has in his entire career. Sam Curran could well overtake him in T20s played by this time next year.

 

[Bevab]

Stubbs playing a blinder.

My opinion on Stokes is he's never had a clear role. England just stick him in the middler order (his record at 5, is solid). He rarely plays T20i and pretty much only plays T20 in the IPL - for years. He's played 10 matches in the last six years.

Buttler has played twice a many matches (less than a year older). I wouldn't be surprised if, by the time he moved up the order to become the GOAT opener, he'd played as much more than Stokes has in his entire career. Sam Curran could well overtake him in T20s played by this time next year.

I don’t deny Stokes hasn’t been given a proper chance to really evolve in T20Is (for good reason). On paper though his current version doesn’t seem to be as appealing either. With the ball he lacks variations that are necessary to survive in T20s, he doesn’t swing it as much as powerplay bowlers and bowls the kind of length at the ideal pace to get smoked regularly (which is what happened with Rajasthan). He seems to want to settle in before going big with the bat and seems suspect against spin initially in white ball cricket. I see opening as the best for that. When he was Rajasthan I thought he would work best as a number three or four though.

Stubbs hits them so well for such a youngster. Has a bright future if he can get an offside game to his already impressive repertoire.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

 

[Bevab]

Surprised to see no post here. Jordan yet again bowled a brilliant death over for instance. Rossouw looked better this game too. If he continues to keep this up I don’t see how Bavuma remains in this lineup. It is quite likely that we might see this in the WC

QdK
Bavuma
Rossouw
Markram
RvD
Miller

I think what could be better though is having Stubbs in place of Bavuma and moving everyone else a position up. If the opposition has offies in the lineup have Markram open instead. However there’s no way the captain is getting axed though.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Surprised to see no post here. Jordan yet again bowled a brilliant death over for instance. Rossouw looked better this game too. If he continues to keep this up I don’t see how Bavuma remains in this lineup. It is quite likely that we might see this in the WC

QdK
Bavuma
Rossouw
Markram
RvD
Miller

I think what could be better though is having Stubbs in place of Bavuma and moving everyone else a position up. If the opposition has offies in the lineup have Markram open instead. However there’s no way the captain is getting axed though.

Rossouw played really well. One of the best T20 batters in the world right now.

#ButtlerOut