England's selection dilemma: Ben Stokes plays, but who makes way?

Posted by Xchange Tickets on October 18th, 2022

In addition to adding quality, Ben Stokes' return to England's T20I lineup has created a selection conundrum ahead of their tournament-opening encounter against the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.

Stokes' talent is undeniable, but as a T20 player, he continues to be a mystery.

Prior to the warm-up games against Australia and Pakistan, England's Test captain had not participated in a T20 International for the better part of two years. He had also hardly appeared in domestic and franchise events during that time.

Furthermore, Stokes' T20I record for England is not very noteworthy. And while some of that is down to Stokes' role—he was frequently utilised lower in the order and away from his areas of strength in prior T20I appearances—it also mirrors a dismal track record in other T20 games.

The biggest conundrum has been how to use Stokes, whose effect has been greatest during past hot streaks in the format as an opener—a position he is unlikely to be selected in at this competition.

It was clear why Jos Buttler, the captain, and the rest of the England management team would select Stokes in the starting XI after he scored 36 runs off of just 18 balls in the final warm-up match against Pakistan.

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“Ben is a superstar and a guy you want in the team,” Buttler said earlier this month. “There is a lot of excitement to have him back.”

According to England coach Matthew Mott, Malan is almost expected to start at number three, and Stokes is slated to enter at number four.

And Buttler thinks that batting Stokes there, and possibly even inserting him before Malan if the openers have a strong start, is the best use of his batting abilities.

“He is someone we want to try to give as much opportunity to impact the game as possible, try to get him up the order as high as we can,” Buttler said. “We’re looking to give him as much responsibility as possible and allow him to play his way to get the best out of him.”

However, choosing Stokes to bat at position four does provide a problem for England.

In his first game back from injury, Liam Livingstone slammed 28 from 16 against Pakistan. However, he would need to replace one of the top six bowlers, all of whom have very good arguments, or a front-line bowler.

The batting-heavy approach

England's batting lineup would be extremely powerful if Stokes was selected at position four and Livingstone was maybe selected at position seven. However, it would force Buttler to require at least four overs from Stokes, Livingstone, and Moeen Ali, which may not be ideal on fields that aren't always spin-friendly.

Given Sam Curran's form leading up to the competition, having him at eight as one of four front-line bowlers would be the most likely choice, but such a selection appears extremely light given the absence of a strong finisher in England's lineup.

The bowling-heavy approach

With Curran at seven and Stokes in the lineup, England would have enough of bowling options, and Curran can more than hold his own in that position as evidenced by his Monday 33-run blitz against Pakistan off just 14 deliveries.

But which batter misses out?

Despite having an ailment, Livingstone appeared in fine shape against Pakistan, while Harry Brook also performed well after his recent successful tour against the same opponents. It would seem unfair to leave out either of those batters.

Some analysts have suggested Moeen as a player who may be substituted, but England would be reluctant to do so because the all-rounder serves as a key member of the team's leadership and serves as the field's de facto captain when Buttler is at the wickets.

Moeen has been one of England's top batters this year even though he doesn't bowl, averaging 32.71 with a strike rate of 164.16 during 17 T20I innings in 2022.

The only other option would be to start with Stokes or Malan instead of Hales, moving the rest of the lineup up one. Buttler and Mott made a significant decision to reinstate Hales in England's T20 squad, and they will be anxious to see the results of that decision.

Drop a big-name batter to accommodate Stokes;

Or go with a bowler light;

What would you do?

England faces a serious selection conundrum. However, the starting lineup they select for the tournament opener against Afghanistan will almost definitely include a flexible starting lineup.

“I think we all know that anyone can bat at a specific time,” Malan revealed after he was moved down to number seven against Australia earlier this month.

“I’m pretty sure if Livingstone was playing he might have come in at three (rather than Stokes), or if we’d have had 100/1 with a small boundary it might have been somebody else.

“We’re very flexible as a team. In the last World Cup I batted five in one of the games. I guess we go with what we need on a specific day, we’re very adaptive.”

England's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 Squad

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Alex Hales. 

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