England set to go with extra batter for T20 World Cup opener with Liam Livingstone to return

Liam Livingstone will return ahead of schedule from the injury that appeared to shatter his World Cup hopes and could hit as low as seven, while he will be joined in the middle order by vice-captain Moeen Ali and rising star Harry Brook.

It represents something of a change of heart from captain Jos Buttler, who likes to have as many bowling opportunities at his disposal as possible and was thought to have leaned towards Sam Curran’s all-round talents at the age of seven.

But the return to full fitness of Livingstone, who damaged his left ankle when he slipped on a curb in August, and Brook’s emerging brilliance have made it nearly impossible for Buttler to choose between them.

So now captain and coach Matthew Mott certainly seem to choose both to take on the Afghan spinners, led by the excellent Rashid Khan, in a Perth Stadium not known for helping the slower bowlers.

If any batsman is under threat, it is believed to be Alex Hales, who seemed to cement his place at the top of the rankings when he made 84 in the first of three internationals against Australia at the start of this tour but has done little since then .

Hales has now done enough to make the team, not least because of his experience and exceptional track record in Australia, but if England decide to go with an extra bowler in subsequent matches, he could be vulnerable. Both Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan were able to open.

The desperately unfortunate absence of Reece Topley, who fears he will require surgery on the ankle he damaged on Monday when he stepped on a border marker in Brisbane, could open the door to David Willey’s surprising choice.

The selection of Willey in place of Topley would retain a second left arm option for England along with Curran and he appears to be just ahead of Chris Jordan, who is returning from injury himself, and Chris Woakes in the bowling order.

Mott has struggled here to say that the line-up could be different in each game as England face different conditions in Australia, but choosing the extra batter seems to be something of a mission statement.

England, with just five games in a Super 12 group with both last year’s T20 World Cup finalists in Australia and New Zealand, know they can’t afford any early missteps if they want to reach the semi-finals, as Hales pointed out. yesterday.

“We just have to get off to a good start,” Hales said. “It’s different from franchise competitions.

‘Often you have 10 to 14 games in there and it’s not the end of the world if you know how to find the first few games. But since it’s only five games, it’s so important to find momentum early on.”

Provided Hales gets the nod, his appearance at the top of the order on Saturday will be the culmination of a return that looked like it would never happen when he was initially left out of this squad.

But another bizarre injury, this one to Jonny Bairstow, opened the door for a man banned by England on the brink of their successful 2019 50-over World Cup campaign when it was found that he had failed a second test for recreational drug use. .

“I’m very excited,” he added. “I really enjoyed being with the team again in Pakistan and now here. Australia is a place I have a lot of fond memories of, so that experience will be important to me and hopefully play a big part in our batting lineup.”

England (probable Afghanistan lineup:) Buttler (captain and goalkeeper), Hales, Malan, Stokes, Brook, Livingstone, Moeen, Curran, Willey, Rashid, Wood.