T20 World Cup 2021: Michael Vaughan Suggests A Change In England's Batting Lineup

Former England captain Michael Vaughan wants to see a change made in England’s batting lineup for the T20 World Cup. He reckons Jonny Bairstow needs to be promoted to No.3 in place of Dawid Malan to maximize the powerplay.

The World No.1 T20I batsman, Malan, is known to take his time in the middle before unleashing his shots. However, in the UAE, where the powerplay matters the most, Malan cannot consume balls without showing any intent.

Instead of Malan, Bairstow can be nudged up the order as he’s more than capable of firing right from ball one. This change could also avoid any lulls in the middle-overs phase, where teams are expected to struggle against spinners.

Here’s what Michael Vaughan suggested:

“England need to find a way of maximising the first 6 overs better … If Malan is going to chew up so many balls in the power play he needs to either get on with it or Bairstow should Bat 3 … #T20WorldCup,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

England need to find a way of maximising the first 6 overs better … If Malan is going to chew up so many balls in the power play he needs to either get on with it or Bairstow should Bat 3 … #T20WorldCup

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 20, 2021

In the first warmup match against India, Malan scored a run-a-ball 18 on a flat track, one of the best ones seen for batting so far. Bairstow on the other hand managed to get into his stride, scoring a 36-ball 49 studded with four fours and a maximum.

Since England has power-hitters throughout the lineup, wasting balls at any phase in the game will hurt them. How they manage to play their way around Malan will be compelling to see.

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