ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 12: ENG vs BAN – England Predicted Playing XI

England might have put up their second-highest total while batting second in the World Cup. But still, they ended up losing to Pakistan in their last match. It was the first loss for the Brits while chasing at home since September 2015. It was a reality check for the tournament favourites and they’d thank their stars that it came in the early parts of the tournament.

The pressure of playing the World Cup seemed to have got the better of their batsmen. Thus, despite two batsmen registering hundreds, they still fell 14 runs short of the target. Yet, it is a huge learning curve and they’d like to move forward with rejuvenated energy as they face Bangladesh next. There could be a possible change in the England eleven considering the previous performances of the players and also keeping the opposition in mind.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for England:

Openers (Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow)

The England openers were tested with spin right at the start in both the games so far. While Jonny Bairstow bagged a golden duck in the first game, it was the turn of Jason Roy to find his way back to the pavilion first against Pakistan. Their woes against picking the variations of a leg-spinner have been quite evident and oppositions will look to exploit this weakness further in the later stages of the tournament.

But fortunately for them, they will not be encountering such a challenge when they face Bangladesh. Every spinner in the opposition, except the part-timer Sabbir Rahman, is a finger spinner. Moreover, this duo enjoys pace coming onto the bat and picking an off-spinner or a left-arm spinner shouldn’t be a huge concern. Thus, one could expect both of them to fire in the next match against the Bangla Tigers.

Middle Order (Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk))

Joe Root put up a valiant fight in the game against Pakistan. He scored a wonderful 100, his 15th in ODI cricket. But, the other batsmen couldn’t really capitalise and build upon this ton. Jos Buttler did try hard. He registered the fastest century for an Englishman in a World Cup game when he got there in just 75 balls. The wicket-keeper batsman was looking threatening.

But he got out soon after he reached the triple digits leaving a lot to be done for the lower-order batsmen. It is important for Eoin Morgan to take charge in situations such as this. Bangladesh, with their performances in the last two games, has sent warning messages to all the other teams. Thus, it is important for this trio in the middle order to not only ensure that they get big scores but also to see the team get over the line.

All Rounders (Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes)

England will continue to field their three all-rounders in the eleven. After the blitz in the first game against South Africa, Ben Stokes missed out against Pakistan. He started well and scored 13 runs but fell to the off-spinner at a crucial stage of the game. He will be tested again and will have to apply himself better this time. The all-rounder did a decent job with the ball on a belter of a batting track.

Moeen Ali absolutely struggled with the bat in the last game. He never got going at any stage of the innings and thus his side couldn’t get over the line. But he did well with the ball and picked up three wickets in the match. With a lot of left-handers in the opposition, he will have a huge role to play yet again. Chris Woakes also picked up three wickets but was slightly expensive in that match. But that isn’t a huge concern as it was a great batting deck.

Bowlers (Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood)

It was surprising to see Liam Plunkett miss out the last game. He is excellent in the middle overs with all his variations and in an important element of this bowling attack. Plunkett, who picked two wickets in the first game, is likely to be back in place of Adil Rashid. Since the top-three batsmen of the opposition are all left-handers, England might want to keep the leg-spinner away.

This gives them the option to test the Bangladesh batsmen with some genuine pace. Both Jofra Archer and Mark Wood hit the 140s consistently and can extract some swing early on. If they manage to pick one or two quick wickets, the opposition will be under considerable pressure. Archer will hope to make up for the poor outing in the last match.