England’s actions spoke much louder than their words in Cardiff where it became clear they would drop Jason Roy in favour of Jonny Bairstow for the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan.
Captain Eoin Morgan declined to confirm the switch, citing tournament protocol to resist divulging his team before the toss.
It was inconceivable, however, on the evidence of England’s morning net session that the out-of-form Roy would remain in situ after his run of low scores caught up with him – and Bairstow will therefore have a belated chance to join the hosts’ bid for a first 50-over global trophy in their history.
England’s Test wicketkeeper was among the first to bat, while Roy was left to throw in the big hits from the outfield and had time in between for a long chat with coach Trevor Bayliss just in front of the boundary hoardings.
Morgan was previously adamant on several occasions, since England began their campaign just under two weeks ago, that Roy would stay in position for the duration alongside Alex Hales at the top of the order come what may.
After the Surrey batsman’s miserable form extended to 51 runs in eight innings with his latest failure in the weekend win over Australia at Edgbaston, it appears the captain has changed his mind – even if he declined to confirm it at his pre-match press conference.
Morgan came closest to doing so when he said: “There’s a chance we could make a change.”
Many of his subsequent answers provided significant indication that it will be Bairstow who is asked to face the new ball against Pakistan left-armers Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan.
“Obviously, we won’t announce the team until the toss,” he added.
“I mentioned after the last game that we’re getting to the business end of the tournament and we need to produce results.
“So it’s important that tomorrow we pick what we feel is our best XI to win the tournament.”
