Jason Roy not playing: England have made a forced solitary change to their Playing XI for the first knockout match of this World Cup.
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During the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between England and New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has won the toss and chose to field.
“We’re bowling first. It’s a good pitch but a bit of dew later. We’re going in with the same team. Busy period for us and we’ve come through, giving in good performances. England has a lot of depth, that’s their strength, and we have the opportunity to play our own brand of cricket to make it to the final,” Williamson said at the toss.
Being asked about their Playing XI for this all-important match tonight, Williamson didn’t surprise anyone by confirming that they haven’t made any change to their winning combination.
Why is Jason Roy not playing vs New Zealand?
Much like Williamson, England captain Eoin Morgan also wanted to field first at this venue. Despite having an edge over New Zealand in the format, Morgan asserted to not take them lightly by any means.
“We would have looked to bowl first too, but hopefully the toss doesn’t decide the result of the game. We can’t take New Zealand lightly at all, they’ve been playing semi-finals and finals for a lot longer than we have, so we’ll have to play out of our skins to beat them. Looking forward to a great contest today,” Morgan said at the toss.
England have had to make a forced change to their Playing XI to replace injured opening batter Jason Roy. Readers must note that Roy had torn his calf while batting in their last Super 12 match against South Africa.
“[Jason] Roy misses out today. Obviously, he’s disappointed because he’s played a big role for us in this tournament and to miss out on a semi-final is devastating. However, [Sam] Billings gets another chance. He’s been doing the hardwork and carrying the drinks for us, and it’s a big opportunity for him. [Jonny] Bairstow will open today, instead of Roy, since he’s done it really well in the past,” Morgan added.
It is worth mentioning that Billings had played the last of his 32 T20Is during the home series against Sri Lanka earlier this year. In his six-year old T20I career, Billings’ 417 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 16.68 and 128.30 respectively with the help of two half-centuries.
Batting for the 57th time in T20Is, Bairstow has opened on 15 occasions in the past scoring 376 runs at an average and strike rate of 25.06 and 137.22 respectively including three half-centuries.
