Replacing Roy and the death overs dilemma: Picking the England XI for the T20 World Cup semi-final

England marched through the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup almost unimpeded, but have hit a few snags late on in their journey. Injuries to Tymal Mills and Jason Roy have necessitated changes to the XI, with the latter’s blow coming in England’s only defeat, to South Africa. England have many possible ways to replace Roy in the side, but each comes with its set of advantages and drawbacks. England also struggled at the death against the Proteas in Mills’ absence, with Mark Wood having come into the side in his place. Reece Topley and James Vince are the latest additions to the England T20 World Cup squad.

Head here to select and share the England XI you would like to see take on the Black Caps.

Ben Gardner, Wisden.com managing editor

Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler (wk)
Dawid Malan
Moeen Ali
Liam Livingstone
Sam Billings
Eoin Morgan
Chris Woakes
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
Mark Wood

Now is not the time to get funky. In theory, David Willey as a pinch hitter or James Vince as a Deus ex machina is attractive, but Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler could win the game on their own, and Sam Billings was the squad’s original back-up batter for a reason.

Mark Wood’s death overs struggles makes one of Reece Topley or Tom Curran appealing too. But one bad game doesn’t make Wood a bad bowler. Given New Zealand’s right-handed top three, it’s unlikely Moeen Ali will be given the new ball, meaning Wood and Woakes can hopefully wreak havoc, as Wood did in the warm-up against the Black Caps. If they do make in-roads, fudging the death overs between those two and Adil Rashid, with Chris Jordan the lock at the other end, will be much easier.

Yas Rana, Wisden.com head of content

Jos Buttler
Dawid Malan
Moeen Ali
Jonny Bairstow
Liam Livingstone
Eoin Morgan
Sam Billings
Chris Woakes
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
Reece Topley

I’d be very surprised if this is the line-up England actually go with but here we are. I resisted the temptation to promote Jonny Bairstow or Liam Livingstone up top because I wanted to maintain that middle-order power that is unrivalled at this tournament. Against a side with two good new-ball bowlers in Tim Southee and Trent Boult, I think Dawid Malan is a fine replacement for Jason Roy. Powerplays haven’t been that high-scoring in the tournament and getting through that six-over period relatively unscathed will be a big part of the battle against a side for whom bowling is definitely their stronger suit. Sam Billings comes in at No. 7 to maintain the batting-heavy balance of the side – I’m still backing Moeen Ali and Livingstone to provide at least four overs between them.

I’ve also gone for Reece Topley over Mark Wood which might raise a few eyebrows. Wood clearly has a higher ceiling – he was arguably England’s standout bowler against India earlier this year – but I’d argue that Topley suits the role currently expected of Wood better than the Durham quick does. With just three quicks in the side and Woakes generally sharing new-ball duties with a spinner, Wood is unlikely to be able to bowl many overs in the phases of an innings he prefers to bowl in. He’s expected to bowl at the death, something that Topley generally does slightly better than him.

Jo Harman, Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine editor

Jos Buttler (wk)
Jonny Bairstow
Dawid Malan
Moeen Ali
Liam Livingstone
Eoin Morgan (c)
Sam Billings
Chris Woakes
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
Mark Wood

If England are to go on and win the tournament, it’ll be no mean feat given the players they’ve lost. You could make a strong case that Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Tymal Mills and Jason Roy would all feature in their best XI; their strength in depth, while impressive, is being stretched to the limit.

As for the gap left by Roy’s absence, Bairstow, after a quiet tournament in the middle order, should be promoted to open. We’ve seen before in a World Cup that James Vince is a poor substitute for Roy’s dynamism in the powerplay and Bairstow will relish the opportunity on the big stage. Billings slots in at No.7, allowing Moeen further opportunities up the order to capitalise on his good form.

Replacing Mills is more problematic, because he does things which the other bowlers in England’s squad don’t. It comes down to Wood, who was expensive against South Africa, or David Willey, who has a superb record but doesn’t really tick the boxes required to fill the void left by Mills. Wood takes it by a nose but the Kiwis will sense an opportunity there, particularly in the death overs.

Taha Hashim, Wisden.com features editor

Jos Buttler
James Vince
Dawid Malan
Jonny Bairstow
Moeen Ali
Liam Livingstone
Eoin Morgan
Chris Woakes
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
Mark Wood

I thought a lot about tinkering. David Willey at No.7 to help England stay flexible with their quicks? That was tempting. Jonny Bairstow up top to shake it out Sunrisers style? That was appetising.

Instead, I’m just going for the straight swap. Out goes Roy and in comes Vince. Now that’s just fun.

Look, truthfully, I’m in it for the story. Vince remains English cricket’s most enigmatic batter, one who took an unexpected chance during the summer just gone to hit his maiden international century. It would be something to behold if he emerged from nowhere to take centre stage again. This time, in a World Cup semi.