If a nervy performance in their final game of the Super 12s did not exactly strike fear into India, who were confirmed as England’s semi-final opponents on Sunday, Jos Buttler’s side did prove something in beating Sri Lanka to make it to the knockout stages. After sticking too rigidly to pre-match plans in their first two matches, the last two games forced upon them a more freewheeling and successful approach – and now they may need to rip up their tactics again.
“They got off like a train but good teams respond well, and I think we responded well,” Mark Wood said of his side’s four-wicket win on Saturday. “The tale of the game was that spin was always going to be hard, and could the pace either get wickets or restrict? That was different to the last game, and if the Adelaide pitch is different we’ll have to adapt there as well. You’ve got to be fluid in your team, in selection, in orders and bowling lineups. You don’t want to be a one-trick pony.”
