Michael Atherton feels that even if players perform different roles, the team’s balance should not be affected.
Jason Roy suffered a calf injury while batting in England’s last group game against South Africa. The right-handed batter could not complete his innings and had to be helped off the pitch.
Roy later appeared on crutches and has now been officially ruled out of the tournament.
Writing in his column for The Times, Atherton suggested that England’s best bet was to open the innings with Jonny Bairstow. Atherton observed that Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone are also contenders to do so.
The 53-year old added:
Roy’s opening combination with Jos Buttler has been one of the most successful in the tournament.
The South Africa-born batter scored 123 runs in five matches at 30.75, striking at 138.20, before being ruled out.
“A considerable achievement given the first-choice players that are missing” - Atherton on England reaching knockouts
Atherton also wrote that England have made the knockouts despite missing their key players, which is a testament to their enormous depth. The cricketer-turned-commentator said:
England suffered their only loss of the tournament as South Africa beat them by 10 runs in Sharjah on Saturday. The Three Lions face New Zealand next in the semi-finals.
The two sides also clashed in the 2016 World T20 semi-final, where Eoin Morgan and co. beat Kane Williamson’s men to reach the final.
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