Morgan keeps England cards close to his chest for a reshuffle in New Zealand | T20 World Cup 2021

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Like the main characters in Four Weddings and a Funeral, the England and New Zealand cricket teams can’t seem to go to a party without facing each other. There have been five meetings at the major international tournaments since the beginning of 2015, and as far as England is concerned, there have been four rowdy meetings, and one that has been vigilant.

England’s humiliating thrashing in Wellington at the 2015 ODI World Cup was instrumental in propelling them toward their current position of white supremacy, as both teams who meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday were affected in different ways by the team led by Brendon at the time. McCullum. Since then their stars have seemed to match, and now they’re ready for another sequel.

It’s a match that became incredibly difficult to anticipate in one moment on Saturday night when Jason Roy blasted off in one match and his calf muscle refused to cooperate. While England would be particularly pained by the absence of the opening match – the Eoin Morgan man said he “embodies everything we are about in the changing room and the way we play” – in many ways, this is a game between two teams that both suffer, in very different ways, from the same injury.

The impact on England is palpable, and it has forced them to approach their most important game of the tournament so far with an unwelcome reorganization. But this also affects New Zealand, whose tactical planning has been thrown into disarray. Had Roy been physically fit, England would have certainly not changed in this game and New Zealand’s task would be much more difficult but also predictable. In his absence, New Zealand at the heart of their preparations had many guesses and fingers crossed.

England and New Zealand Quick Guide: Possible Lineups Show

England

Owen Morgan (c); Joss Butler (week), Jonny Birstow, David Malan, Muin Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Livingston, Chris Walks, Chris Jordan, Adel Rashid, Mark Wood.

New Zealand

Ken Williamson (c); Martin Jupitel, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway (week), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Nissam, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southey, Ish Soddy, Trent Bolt.

T20 World Cup semi-finals

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Start time 2pm (GMT) Weather Sunny, 27 degrees Sky Sports Main Event Radio BBC 5 Live Sports Extra

Referees M. Erasmus (SA) and K. Dharmacina (SL) 3rd Referee An Menon (India) Referee De Boone (Australia)

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“I suppose whenever there’s an injury, someone else comes along and you won’t know who it is until the lottery,” said Ken Williamson. “But you try to prepare and plan as best you can and then when you get out there you are competing at the moment. Jason is a big player in England but their depth is one of their strengths and we will try to plan accordingly to the best of our ability. Pretty much we want to focus on the kind of cricket that we have. We want to play it and continue to develop it as we have done throughout this tournament.”

The strength of the New Zealand bowling attack may cause England to focus on hitting power. Photograph: Kamran Gebreli/The Associated Press

Roy’s injury made a simple selection decision – probably an unchanged aspect – and made it very problematic, in a way that illustrates the tactical complexity of Twenty20 cricket.

The easiest decision is to decide who to replace him initially, a decision already made by Morgan. He said on Tuesday that he is “blessed with men who can strike at the top of the rankings and really want to,” a sentiment that David Malan memorably put forward earlier this summer when he said there were “about 10 men on this team” who “will chew every arm.” Eoin for a chance to open.” But the possibility is that Malan will remain frustrated in his quest for the position, and that Jonny Bairstow – who has opened in four of the recent T20 meetings between England and New Zealand – will join Joss Butler at the top of the standings.

This is potentially fruitful, bringing a strong strong player into Powerplay where an explosive start can effectively determine the match. But it’s also risky, putting Bairstow’s best Kiwi players, Trent Bolt and Tim South, at the point where they are most dangerous.

But that still leaves room in the squad, and England’s most difficult decision is who to switch to. Here they must first choose whether to maintain the heavy batting strategy that has made them dependent throughout the competition on two specialized batsmen, Liam Livingston and Moeen Ali, to hit at least four overs, or choose another player, most likely An all-round bowler, Tom Curran and David Wylie.

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“I suppose replacing him with another shooter would mean you have 28 real chances on the court and a lot of options,” Morgan said. “If you’re going with the bat, that’s substitute the proverb for the proverb. When we turn up and look at the wicket, if it’s going to be a really good wicket, you might need a little bowling. If not, you might need a little batting.”

Decision making may help that New Zealand has settled on a bowling heavy strategy, and the best way to take on a team with big bowling power is clearly to boost the hits. Specialized hitters available to Morgan are James Vince, who was recently added to the squad to replace Roy and another opening favorite, Sam Billings, who appears to be a better fit for the newly vacated spot in the middle standings.

For all their injuries, England still lacks options, and their best option now, a movie screenwriter might say, is to keep them guessing until the end.

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