CHAMPIONS TROPHY
MUCH has been made of the value of consistency of selection as England have made serene progress through the group stages of this ICC Champions Trophy.
But yesterday Eoin Morgan showed there remains a place for ruthless pragmatism by ditching the misfiring Jason Roy for Jonny Bairstow with the final in sight.
The 11th-hour switch ahead of today’s semi-final against Pakistan in Cardiff was as good as confirmed by the sight of Roy spending batting nets yesterday not hitting himself back into form but retrieving some of the bigger hits from others on the boundary edge in between chatting with coach Trevor Bayliss.
Morgan would not confirm the change but did offer a ringing endorsement of Bairstow’s credentials as a late substitute.
“Jonny is a fantastic batsman and I think his best attribute, certainly in white-ball cricket over the last year and a half, has been his relentless attitude to score runs regardless of the situation,” said Morgan.
“When you have guys sitting on the sideline they can get a little bit upset and that can affect their performance when the actual chance comes along, but that doesn’t seem to affect Jonny. Every time he gets a chance, he’s been in a great frame of mind. I wouldn’t see a problem if he came in.”
The ditching of Roy is a change Morgan has resisted longer than most, yet ultimately the proximity of the final at the Oval on Sunday and Roy’s scratchy form – he averages 6.37 in eight ODIs this summer – convinced him to bite the bullet. Whether it is a success remains to be seen with Bairstow untested as an opener for England and having done the job just eight times in List A