Dawid Malan limped off during England's match against Sri Lanka in the final group game and is a doubt for Thursday's semi-final at the Adelaide Oval; watch England's semi-final live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 7am on Thursday.
Monday 7 November 2022 06:12, UK
England reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with a nervy four-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in Sydney but it also came with an injury concern for Jos Buttler's side.
An excellent bowling performance in the final 10 overs, led by Adil Rashid, backed up by a good opening partnership between Alex Hales and England captain Buttler helped them reach the last four.
However, Dawid Malan did not bat for England after the batter limped off toward the end of Sri Lanka's innings.
He went off holding his groin and was not padded up as England chased down a target of 142 with two balls to spare.
The number three has scored 56 runs for England in three innings, including 35 runs in a losing effort against Ireland.
While he has not set the World Cup on fire, Malan is an important part of the side. He has often anchored an innings and give more attacking players freedom to take risks.
Michael Atherton thinks the scheduling will give Malan the maximum time to recover.
"I suppose to Malan's advantage, it's the second semi-final, so he has an extra day to recover. But the way he pulled it, he pulled up really sharply and that makes you slightly fearful for him," he said.
If he is out, Malan will be a big miss for England, but it also gives opportunities for those waiting in the wings to stake a claim for regular place in the side.
Who could Buttler call on if Malan is out? England have Phil Salt, David Willey, Chris Jordan, and Tymal Mills as options.
Salt would be the obvious choice from the list of four substitutes to replace Malan. As the only batter, he would be expected to go straight into the top order.
Salt was impressive before the tournament, scoring 167 runs in the seven-match series against Pakistan.
However, adding Salt into the line-up would mean he would have to either come in at an unfamiliar number three position, enter lower down the order or displace Alex Hales at the top of the order.
Buttler and Hales have shown positive signs of a dangerous opening partnership in the final two games of the group stages, and it is unlikely England will want to disrupt that.
Salt would probably come in at number three, or lower down the order, with Ben Stokes promoted up the order.
England have shown after Hales and Buttler the batting order is flexible, and adding Salt into the equation would give Buttler another explosive option.
"England bat so deep and you bring in an impact player, you don't want to wait and choose the moment and create hesitation in his role," former England captain Eoin Morgan said.
"You want to give him total clarity in the role that he is coming into do.
"I totally understand (Alex) Hales has played brilliantly tonight and he is just forming a new partnership with Jos Buttler, but you are talking about the whole batting unit.
"Tonight, we witnessed a massive collapse in that middle period where they should be stability. Salt can get you off to a flier, so for that reason I would say Phil Salt at the top of the order."
Michael Atherton thinks Salt "would fit quite happily" into England's batting line-up.
"They have got a good replacement in Salt, who is a real dasher at the top of the order and would fit in quite happily in there. It would take a little bit of rejigging around him, but they've got an adequate replacement," he said.
At the last T20 World Cup, England fell at the semi-final stage to New Zealand, in large parts due to poor death bowling.
This year, England have been much improved in that phase of the game with Sam Curran leading the way, with figures of 10-94 in four matches.
England have used variations to restrict teams of runs, but the boundary dimensions at the Adelaide Oval mean yorkers have been more effective at the death.
Eoin Morgan thinks Buttler and Matthew Mott could turn to a bowler to boost their bowling line-up.
He said: "Every ground they've played on so far they've gone into the wicket, taking pace off or pace on. They've not been under pressure to bowl yorkers.
"I think at the Adelaide Oval, you need bowlers to go to with the boundaries being long and straight. If Jos and Matthew Mott feel like they need to add to that, they might not go for Salt.
"They might bring in a Chris Jordan or a death bowler to add to that, as I think all other areas might be covered."
Jordan is vastly-experienced at the death and would also be an added bonus in the field. Jordan has come on as a sub-fielder in the last two games and has taken four catches.
Tymal Mills and David Willey have also bowled at the death, but are not as experienced as Jordan.
Watch England's semi-final live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 7am on Thursday.
