England Squad for T20's against South Africa

England squad

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) – available for the first two matches of the series
Sam Billings (Kent)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Mason Crane (Hampshire)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Dawid Malan (Middlesex)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, captain)
Craig Overton (Somerset) – available for the last two matches of the series
Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
David Willey (Yorkshire)
Mark Wood (Durham) – available for the first match of the series


Crane, Livingstone, Curran, Overton? Be still my beating heart

Not to forget Malan getting a try too...

Sensible squad ...resting some key players after the CT , trying potential new stars but a good core of experience.

Selectors take a bow

No Woakes though Olly! For obvious reasons of course. Experimental side is likely which I am fine with. Only grumble I have is Mark Wood being in there. Maybe he won't play but he needs resting from any non important games, even if it's only one

Good to see Livingstone in there, deserves his call up...suprised to see Crane and Overton selected, Overton is having a shocking season, and Crane has hardly played...Dawson was gonna be in there..good to see Malan selected as well

Crane is a bit of a punt but it does show just how much they desperately need to develope a real spinner rather than part time all rounders (although Rashid is finaly starting to produce something in ODIs at least)

Even so as an inexperienced leggie who cant bat to save his life its still unlikley he'll be a genuine international force anytime soon.

Where else did they have to turn though? Relying soley on Dawson and Malan for slow bowling wasnt going to happen. He did perform well for the lions so on that basis deserves his call up.

Overton ..well I guess that just shows how little attention they pay to domestic cricket performances vs potential and the time spent with them in the devleopment squads. Overtons clearly being groomed long term as one of the lead seamers for the future. Have to say though on evidence of his T20 track record theres no way he should be near the squad, and his brothers done a lot more at county level this year.

Malans been hovering round the fringes for a long time. If he could learn to spell his own name he might be in with a better chance.

Livingstone is the one whos forced his way in on recent performaces and looks like he could actually do something in the series.

Roys big chance to find some form and confidence. With a scratch side the onus is on him as a senior player (!!) to step up. Same for Billings really whos had a lot of chances but done very little for England..if he does play it would be nice of him to get some runs.

In theory they can put together a side without any of the new caps in for the first game but I would expect one of the batsmen and one or two bowlers to get in. As Bairstow and Wood drop out they wont have a choice but to be picking the new faces.

wisden wrote:Good to see Livingstone in there, deserves his call up...suprised to see Crane and Overton selected, Overton is having a shocking season, and Crane has hardly played...Dawson was gonna be in there..good to see Malan selected as well

Crane 'has hardly played' - he played all the 50 over games and has played in the last 3 championship games Also played in the 'winter' in Australia

jimbohammers wrote:

wisden wrote:Good to see Livingstone in there, deserves his call up...suprised to see Crane and Overton selected, Overton is having a shocking season, and Crane has hardly played...Dawson was gonna be in there..good to see Malan selected as well

Crane 'has hardly played' - he played all the 50 over games and has played in the last 3 championship games Also played in the 'winter' in Australia

3 career wickets in this format.
5 games.

He has been very effective in the RLC though yes. But you have to admit his selection is more down to a dearth of real talent in the prior generation of spinners. The chances of an english leggie who cant bat breaking through long term as a genuine interntaional player are pretty slim.

Morgan has confirmed all the new boys will play in the series

Exciting times

Only Crane plays of the new kids tonight

Hales, Roy, Bairstow, Morgan, Buttler, Billings, Dawson, Willey, Jordan, Wood, Crane (for some reason the ECB graphic has Crane coming in at #8 ahead of Willey and Jordan )

Would imagine the rest will get a go in the next two - especially as Wood and some others will be rested

England to bowl first

Lovely start by Dawson and Crane here - Dawson unlucky to have two from ABDV bounce just short of fielders in the ring

SA 55-3 off 9 - AB the crucial wicket

Excellent spell from Dawson. ABDV is going to have to do something silly to get SA near a decent score.

Excellent stuff from Dawson and Crane - Dawson only gone for 17 off his 4, and Crane only going for 24 off his 4 on debut. Showed off his googly, and different leggies - promising

I don't know if it was just my perception but Dawson seemed to rattle through his overs so quickly. Old fashioned approach of not letting the batsman have time to think about his shots. Certainly effective.

Crane made a hash of his last ball which was a shame but I generally liked the way he varied his flight and didn't appear overawed.

142-3 off 20 overs for SA - miles short you'd think, pitch looks good, they just dawdled through the middle overs - took no risks against the spinners. Think they're 20/30 short of par at least

Great stuff by the Hampshire lads. Dawson reliable as ever and Crane did very well on debut. Good idea for Morgan + the Selectors to pick Crane at his home ground , probably helped with the nerves.
Very good from Jordan at the death. South Africa look way short here

Umm, not sure about that Jason. All for no fear cricket, back yourself etc. but that was ridiculous.

JDizzle wrote:Umm, not sure about that Jason. All for no fear cricket, back yourself etc. but that was ridiculous.

He's done his job already tbf - England can now just see off Tahir

Possibly - but that is a terrible attitude if he is thinking like that. He should have been desperate for an 80*.

JDizzle wrote:Possibly - but that is a terrible attitude if he is thinking like that. He should have been desperate for an 80*.

Attacking player scores four with attacking shot - innovative brilliance
Attacking players gets out with an attacking shot - WHAT'S HE DOING, SACK HIM, END THE WORLD

I'm being facetious a tad - but Roy's role in the T20's opening is to go as hard as he can in the powerplay. And he plays that shot well - just didn't come off this time, happens

Good god South Africa have been awful

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:I'm being facetious a tad - but Roy's role in the T20's opening is to go as hard as he can in the powerplay. And he plays that shot well - just didn't come off this time, happens

I think it is a bit of a cop out to say that is how he plays in this case. He has just taken 20+ off the previous over playing more conventional attacking shots, yet he has tried to reverse lap a new bowlers first ball - still inside the PP, so only two out aswell which means he can't even claim he was manoeuvring the field. I don't think that is close to being his highest percentage boundary shot in that situation.

SA have been rancid throughout. I think it shows the faith ABDV had in his lower order the way he held back and held back when batting.

England win without breaking sweat

The Behardien drop summed up the game

Good stuff from everyone who was involved - seamers bowled well up front and got wickets, spinners kept it tight, fielded well, and top 3 knocked them off easily.

Might be a bit more of a runfest at Taunton tho!

JDizzle wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:I'm being facetious a tad - but Roy's role in the T20's opening is to go as hard as he can in the powerplay. And he plays that shot well - just didn't come off this time, happens

I think it is a bit of a cop out to say that is how he plays in this case. He has just taken 20+ off the previous over playing more conventional attacking shots, yet he has tried to reverse lap a new bowlers first ball - still inside the PP, so only two out aswell which means he can't even claim he was manoeuvring the field. I don't think that is close to being his highest percentage boundary shot in that situation.

SA have been rancid throughout. I think it shows the faith ABDV had in his lower order the way he held back and held back when batting.

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one Mr Dizzle.

Agreed about the ABDV innings - and tbf looking at the lineup to come, you can't blame him.

Well that was... a thrashing. England by all accounts bowled well (only caught the last five overs), but SA have to look at their batsmen's approach. Nothing wrong with the pitch, in fact looked excellent for batting, so 140/3 a really poor effort.

England batted well, and it was nice to se Roy back in some sort of form. I'm in two minds about the shot he played. I'm not sure it was the best option, but it's a shot he plays well, and that's where the gap in the field was (all up on the off side). In any case, nice to see some confidence back for him, you felt he was only ever one knock away from getting back into form, and maybe that knock for Surrey and this brief cameo will do the trick. Bairstow and Hales are in very good form right now, and it showed.

Suspect England will make a couple of changes in the next game: Malan in for Hales, and give Wood a rest.

Mfc and I watched the whole game between us. Whilst he saw England batting, I saw them bowling.

I've just watched a few of Roy's shots as highlighted on Sky together with his dismissal. I agree with the view there that he clearly got us off to a cracking start and played the way intended for him which put us further ahead in the game. Where he was at fault with his dismissal wasn't nearly so much the shot but that he didn't give himself a ball or two to look at and assess the new bowler. Push on definitely but that sort of rush wasn't necessary.

I haven't seen any of Bairstow's knock (not even any highlights) so am in no proper place to query his MotM award. However, weren't we already well on the way to chalking up a win when he came to the crease? Based on what I did see in the first 20 overs, Dawson (0/17 off 4 in a t20 is really special and puts your side in a strong position) and Morgan (his use of the bowlers and being the representative of an excellent team performance) would have been well in contention.

It depends on what criteria you're awarding MOM I guess. Is it the best player? Or the one whose performance influenced the result the most? If the former I have no real qualms over Bairstow. He played superbly, an innings full of class I thought. If the latter, then yes, it should have gone to one of the bowlers, probably Dawson. Bairstow came in with England needing less than 100 runs off 16 overs with 9 wickets in hand, a position from which any international team worth their salt should cruise to victory (in effect, Bairstow was the difference between cruising to a comfortable win and an absolute shellacking).

In my book, it certainly doesn't need to be the performance that most influenced the result. I've no issue with the MotM award going to a member of the losing side, although that rarely seems to happen. What I do think is important though is the context in which the individual performance was delivered.

I don't much like ''pressure'' being used in a cricket context but for want of a better term, the game was still in the balance and so there was more pressure on our bowlers and Morgan as captain when they were doing their stuff than when Bairstow was giving South Africa ''an absolute shellacking''. That doesn't exclude Bairstow getting the award but I do think it's something that should have gone into the mix. Perhaps it did, these decisions should always be made with an element of balance.

Haven't seen a ball (time just too unfriendly for a random t20 !) ; but I think both mfc and guildford have good points re MoTM

The 0/17 from 4 probably was the defining performance , in a game changing way ; but there is an element of "theatre" in this award , is there not ? Especially in these short games...so giving it to such seemingly unspectacular figures (Wot? No wickets ?!!) might be a stretch ...the poor old bowlers always get the short straw And as guildford says , the award rarely goes to the losing camp so no surprise that it went to the best scorer for England in this case.

Sounds as if YJB played a blinder anyway so can't begrudge him the award.

If Ali, Root and Stokes had been available its unlikley that Bairstow would have been picked.
Which is bonkers.

Dominant all round performance.

alfie wrote:Haven't seen a ball (time just too unfriendly for a random t20 !) ; but I think both mfc and guildford have good points re MoTM

The 0/17 from 4 probably was the defining performance , in a game changing way ; but there is an element of "theatre" in this award , is there not ?  Especially in these short games...so giving it to such seemingly unspectacular figures (Wot? No wickets ?!!)  might be a stretch ...the poor old bowlers always get the short straw      And as guildford says , the award rarely goes to the losing camp so no surprise that it went to the best scorer for England in this case.

Sounds as if YJB played a blinder anyway so can't begrudge him the award.  

Hi Alfie - you're absolutely right about there being an element of ''theatre'' in the award. That's fair enough given the game is meant to entertain. However, for me although probably not the majority of (television) viewers, such entertainment can be in various ways including a subtle, understated performance (eg, 0/17 off 4). I too don't begrudge Bairstow his award but feel it was wrong if Dawson (or even Morgan orchestrating an excellent team bowling performance) wasn't in contention simply because what he did couldn't be easily shown in a 60 seconds Sky highlights clip.

Surprised to see Overton not given a debut on his home ground, Plunkett in for Crane, Curran in for Wood and Livingstone in for Hales (Billings moved upto open) the only changes

SA 107-3 in the 13th over - ABDV and Miller in. Feel they will need 180-200 at Taunton, pitch looks good as usual

ABDV 46 off 19 - get this on lads, he could get a hundred here

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:ABDV 46 off 19 - get this on lads, he could get a hundred here

Out next ball

Mixed bag this...some "big" overs ; and some apparently soft dismissals ; though Plunkett has really earned his scalps with some clever changes of pace. He'd have great figures but for that one monster over of de Villiers !
Dawson should buy a raffle ticket after his wicket though

Curran had a dream start ...and more of a "learning experience" from his second over.

England will be chasing a few more today. But as you say , Olly , it looks good for batting.

Aha ! ABDV out ! Big wicket . Willey

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:ABDV 46 off 19 - get this on lads, he could get a hundred here

Out next ball

Well jinxed , Olly

Tom Curran hitting 84mph here - one yorker registered 88mph...seemed a bit weird too me. Like Guildford said on the other thread, if he's to sustain a long international career you'd suspect he needs to get that stock ball upto 87-88mph...but then Anderson bowls mid 80's and he's one of the best ever!

alfie wrote:Mixed bag this...some "big" overs ; and some apparently soft dismissals ; though Plunkett has really earned his scalps with some clever changes of pace.  He'd have great figures but for that one monster over of de Villiers !
Dawson should buy a raffle ticket after his wicket though

Curran had a dream start ...and more of a "learning experience" from his second over.

England will be chasing a few more today.  But as you say , Olly , it looks good for batting.

Aha ! ABDV out !  Big wicket . Willey

Not sure if you saw Alfie but there was a 50 over game that was 424 played 400 between Somerset and Notts the other day...180 is par at Taunton I'd say. SA in danger of falling short again

Blimey ! Jordan drops a catch

Still England have pegged them back well .

Mid eighties is fine if you can move the ball and control it. McGrath wasn't noted for express pace either...

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Tom Curran hitting 84mph here - one yorker registered 88mph...seemed a bit weird too me. Like Guildford said on the other thread, if he's to sustain a long international career you'd suspect he needs to get that stock ball upto 87-88mph...but then Anderson bowls mid 80's and he's one of the best ever!

He can build up the pace over the next 2-3 years, odds are there's still a bit of muscle development to go in at his age

Yeah I think England won't be intimidated having to chase 180 here. Not to say it would be a guaranteed success ; but SA would really like more.
Livingstone will be under a bit more pressure when he bats after dropping that catch !

Another one for Curran ! Come back well after the expensive second over

Might keep them under 180 now...

Excellent fast Yorker from Curran !  Makes this a really good debut

Jason Roy must be wearing his lucky underpants today

Very fortunate with the edges ...but I guess he was due a bit of luck after the CT.  Getting England off to a rapid start despite losing Billings early.

Brendan McCullum's analysis is very good on comms - actually adds something to the experience

92-1 off 10 - Roy and Jonny B both in, Billings failed.

83 off the final 10 needed - England favourites here

33 ball fifty for Roy - England should've selected *this* Jason Roy for the Champions Trophy imo

Bairstow falls with England needing 50 off 38 balls, 47 off 37 for JB - not quite as good as Wednesday night, but good nonetheless.

Livingstone in next...interesting.

I'm sorry but that is utterly outrageous to give that out.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:I'm sorry but that is utterly outrageous to give that out.

Apparently you're now only meant to spin on sixpence and are not allowed to look at the ball as a runner at all. Ball wasn't even going anywhere near the stumps, and Roy would've been in by yards. Horrific from the third umpire