Five-point plan for England to follow

ENGLAND have made serene progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy but they are far from the finished article. Here’s what they must address if they are to win the tournament…

1. Get Jason Roy back in form - or make the tough call to drop him The Surrey opener has 47 ODI runs at 6.71 this summer. England have kept faith with him – and while Alex Hales, who scored 95 and 56 in the opening two games, is in form Roy’s rut is not an issue. But he needs runs against Australia because England can’t afford passengers in the knockout stages. Roy has been assured he will keep his place but can England really continue to overlook Jonny Bairstow if he fails again?

2. Don’t be afraid to rein it in with the bat when the situation dictates Coach Trevor Bayliss said after the recent defeat by South Africa at Lord’s that his batsmen “didn’t go hard enough” in a match where they were reduced to 20-6. There was evidence against New Zealand that the ultraattacking philosophy does have to be checked. Too many batsmen threw their wickets away when set. It meant England, for whom the absence of Chris Woakes weakens the batting, were unable to throw the kitchen sink at the final 15 overs and fell 30 or 40 short of the total they should have got.

3. the Be field more ruthless in England have made leaps and bounds in this area since Bayliss came on board two years ago. But they do let themselves down every now and then. Catches have gone down in the first two Champions Trophy games and they haven’t been as sharp as they could be in the field.

4. Keep faith with Adil Rashid Dropped for the first match, the leg-spinner showed his worth in the second despite the short boundaries in Cardiff that left him vulnerable. The variation the leg-spinner offers the attack is crucial and whatever the opposition he should keep his place after proving he had developed into a fine ODI bowler.

5. Stick with Liam Plunkett as the go-to death bowler Plunkett has had a terrific start to the Champions Trophy, with eight wickets in two matches. The absence of Woakes has given him a role bowling at the death and he has embraced it. The Yorkshire quick must continue what he has been doing.