The start of the South Africa series and the return of Roy, Buttler, Moeen & Stokes to the batting order after being rested in New Zealand is a significant day in England’s road to the World Cup. Thread (1/n). #SAvENG
The way England structure their team with these players back will be very interesting & is likely to indicate their plans for the tournament itself later this year. The two most important issues are the batting order & the balance of the team & they are related. #SAvENG
The primary issue around the batting order is that England - as is typical among T20 teams right now - have a surplus of top order options, so how they structure & utilise those players will be telling. #SAvENG
Of those in the squad it'll be revealing to see which of Roy, Bairstow, Malan or Buttler opens. Outside the squad Hales, Banton, Vince, Livingstone & Salt are also options. The T20 circuit will provide plenty of opportunity for these players to jostle for position too. #SAvENG
Buttler‘s position is particularly important. He’s England’s best batsman but England have loads of options at the top & are more in need towards the back-end. Should your best player face most balls (top order) or should he bat in the toughest period (middle order)? #SAvENG
The answer to that is largely determined by the rest of batting order. The strongest teams generally have the resources at their disposal to be flexible with their best players whereas weaker teams have more incentive to maximise the balls they face. England are strong. #SAvENG
England giving themselves the opportunity to be flexible with Buttler seems the best way. As long as he doesn't open they can deploy him according to the situation, coming in as early or as late as the match dictates. England's top order is good enough to allow this. #SAvENG
Morgan's supreme power-hitting form (192 runs off 99 balls in New Zealand) helps England as well in that they are less reliant on Buttler in the death overs if Morgan can assume responsibility in this phase. #SAvENG
Buttler's position in the order could have significant repercussions for how England balance the XI—something @benjonescricket outlines in this post: bit.ly/3by5lZ. If he opens they may be more inclined to pick an additional batsman down the order. #SAvENG
The question of balance is another key issue facing this England team. In most sides number seven is indicative of whether a team is batting or bowling-heavy. In New Zealand England went with S Curran in the position, opting for bowling depth over batting-depth. #SAvENG
It will be very interesting to see whether they continue with this policy of a bowling all rounder at seven even now that Stokes & Moeen are back in the team. How much England trust Stokes & Moeen as the fifth bowler fits into the Buttler position question as well. #SAvENG
If England trust Moeen & Stokes to be the fifth bowler then they can justify picking an additional batsman in the top seven rather than a bowling all rounder which could give them the flexibility to open with Buttler if they want because they'll still have batting depth. #SAvENG
It will be intriguing to see how they deploy Moeen. He has batted 16 of his 25 T20I innings at 7 or 8. This is too low. He is vulnerable against pace & hard lengths but destroys spin. He should be used as a spin power-hitter through the middle overs - pencilled at four. #SAvENG
Stokes should float in the order. Contrary to popular perception he is not that well-suited to death hitting; he's more of an anchor who takes time. If England lose an early wicket Stokes is a firewall at three; if they get off to fliers he should start sliding down. #SAvENG 
England's bowling is probably their weaker suit but is a little more settled. Jofra is a lock while Rashid & Jordan probably are. Wood's return is significant because unlike the Currans he is a legitimate top & tail bowler, while Tom is death-heavy & Sam PP-heavy. #SAvENG
Sam's batting makes him well suited to the no. seven spot if England want to use a bowling all rounder in the position but he needs to prove his value with the ball in the Powerplay: his returns in New Zealand were mixed. #SAvENG
Ultimately England have a very talented set of players at their disposal. Much like India & Australia - two of the other favourites for the World Cup - how they fare will rest largely on how they piece the puzzle together. We'll start understanding their thinking today. #SAvENG
