Saturday, February 20, 2016

Impact of England Openers in the WT20 2016, India

England are a team that, traditionally, does not play spin bowling very well and hence the onus on its openers to provide a rapid start while the ball is still new and hard, and fast bowlers are probably in operation is all the more imperative. England has one opener who is in the form of his life and hitting the ball as sweetly as anyone else in the world while the other spot is debatable. Let us look at the impact that the English Openers will have on the ICC WT20 2016.

Alex Hales

Alex Hales had a horror run in the four match test series against South Africa where he struggled to lay bat to ball but he has been in punishing form in coloured clothing, making 5 consecutive half century scores in the ODI series that followed, including a hundred and a 99. He hits the ball cleanly and likes thrashing the ball straight, a virtue that helps him keep his body shape intact. He is also strong on the back foot and likes cutting and pulling anything which is even remotely short. He has all the shots in the book and will be the key man for England while opening the innings.

His whirlwind 64 ball 116* in the last WT20 helped England beat Sri Lanka, the eventual champions, in the group match. Hales has played 38 T20I’s for England and has an impressive average of over 34 and a strike rate almost touching 140 making him a high impact player for the English in the shortest format of the game.

Impact Rating – 8/10

Jason Roy

A hard hitting and an extremely destructive opener, Jason Roy is an English opening batsman born in South Africa. A clean striker of the cricket ball down the ground, he also revels in playing unconventional shots like the switch hits. He started the ODI series against South Africa with a bang, smashing 48 off just 30 balls but his form has since deserted him. Consistency is always a difficult virtue for attacking opening batsmen, only a few are able to maintain that for long. Roy has played 7 T20I’s and with a highest score of just 29 is yet to carry his domestic form to top flight cricket.

He will be under severe pressure from James Vince, a batsman in the mould of Ajinkya Rahane who plays more conventional shots but has an impressive record. Jason Roy might have one last chance to prove himself in the second T20I which is slated for tomorrow night.

Impact Rating – 5/10

James Vince

James Vince is a young man who has been tipped to do well in all formats for England by those who have seen him. He made an impressive debut for England in T20I’s against Pakistan where he made 125 runs at an average of 41 in the three matches. He represented Karachi in the ongoing PSL and had only an average outing, not making a 50 in 7 innings.

Impact Rating – 5/10

England will have to choose between Roy and Vince for the second openers slot considering the form that Hales is currently in and him bedding his place down.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

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