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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

England urged to make major change for massive T20 World Cup semi-final vs India

Former England captain Michael Atherton believes Jos Buttler's side should make at least one change to their team for the huge semi-final clash against India at the Adelaide Oval.

The ground has short square boundaries and Atherton feels that more traditional death bowling will be more effective as 'full and straight is less easy to hit' in Adelaide than bowling into the pitch.

As a result, Atherton has suggested Chris Jordan should play his first game of the tournament, with the 34-year-old a death specialist who is known for his ability to consistently nail his yorkers.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the game, Atherton said: "I'd be thinking about Jordan because from watching New Zealand vs Ireland and India vs Bangladesh in Adelaide, sixes at the end of the innings where when anyone went into the pitch it was easy.

"Full and straight was less easy to hit. At most of the grounds in Australia, you want to be into the pitch and looking to get batters hitting square, here you want them to hit down the ground so you want to be up in the blockhole.

"Jordan does that as well as anybody, but David Willey also offers an option and gives you a bit of batting, so there are alternatives. I'd think about having an extra bowling option."

England could opt to play Jordan as a replacement for Dawid Malan, who picked up a groin injury in the previous game against Sri Lanka and looks unlikely to feature against India, although Phil Salt appears a more likely replacement.

Chris Jordan has been tipped to play his first game of the tournament against India (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Mark Wood is also a doubt after suffering from general stiffness after flying into Adelaide and pulling up in training on Tuesday. He appears more likely to feature than Malan at this stage and will be given every chance to prove his fitness before the semi-final.

And should Wood be fit enough to feature, former England captain Nasser Hussain has suggested Jordan could replace Harry Brook, who is averaging just nine and striking 102.85 so far this tournament. "I know Eoin Morgan would maybe make one more change and bring Jordan in," he said.

"That could be a straight swap for Malan or it could be for someone like Harry Brook who has had a quiet tournament with the bat. That's nothing against Brook but on this ground you might just want that extra bowling option, especially to bowl full and straight at the death."

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