Jos Butler-led England is one of the strongest contenders to win the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. The England squad consists of several match-winners like Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Alex Hales. But England has a problem of plenty when it comes to its playing XI. Skipper Jos Butler and the England team management are in a dilemma as young players like Sam Curran and Philip Salt have performed well in T2OIs in the last few weeks. Recently, Michael Atherton opened up about England’s selection conundrum.
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In the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, the former England captain opined that Ben Stokes is a shoo-in for England’s playing XI. But he also added that Stokes hadn’t played much T20 cricket and that Sam Curran could be considered in place of the England Test captain.
“You could have both Curran and Jordan in the playing XI. Stokes is a shoo-in to this team, but has not played much T20 for quite some time. On the plus side you think that it’s a big tournament and he is a big game player. But if you look at this format, the truth is that he has just not played that much. So, maybe Malan at No.3, Brook at No.4 and then you can fit in Curran and Jordan,” Michael Atherton was quoted as saying on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
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In July, Ben Stokes retired from the ODI format in order to focus on Test cricket and T20Is. However, Stokes did not travel to Pakistan for the seven-match T20I series. Despite missing its star players like Jos Butler and Ben Stokes, England scripted a rare T20I series victory in Pakistan. Moeen Ali-led England pipped Pakistan to win the seven-match T20I series 4-3 in the seventh T20I in Lahore.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, England team is currently playing in a three-match series against Australia. In the 1st T20I, England out-batted the hosts to register an impressive victory. Skipper Jos Butler and Alex Hales starred with the bat as England put up 208 runs on the board. In the second innings, England’s premier speedster Mark Wood produced a stellar spell to help his team defend the mammoth total. England and Australia will now face-off in the blockbuster second T20I at Canberra on October 12.
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