CARDIFF: England are set to drop opener Jason Roy for Wednesday’s Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan in Cardiff.
Roy, 26, has made only 51 runs in his past eight one-day internationals.
British cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said Roy did not bat with the rest of the team in Tuesday’s net session, with Jonny Bairstow—his likely replacement—in first.
Roy received the backing of captain Eoin Morgan before Saturday’s win over Australia, when he fell second ball.
He has made 1,462 runs at an average of 34 in 46 ODIs.
England cannot name their team until the day of the match for anti-corruption reasons, but Morgan said Yorkshire’s Bairstow would be a capable replacement for Roy.
Barstow, 27, has played 26 ODIs, scoring 647 runs at an average of 38.05. This year he has made three half-centuries in four one-day innings for England.
Morgan told British media: “Jonny Bairstow is our next man in line. He is a very fine batsman. One thing he does exceptionally well is deal with no baggage.
“He comes in and wants to prove everyone wrong the whole time. It’s been a huge attribute in him scoring runs when he has had a chance.
“Everyone goes through a bad run and that’s expected. If someone happens to miss out then they’re not going to be too far away from our plans in the future.
“We have reasonably strong plans for 15 or 17 guys who we believe can take part in the 2019 World Cup and we are sticking to that plan.”
Pre-tournament favourites England, who have never won a global 50-over tournament, are the only side with a 100% record from their three group games.
They beat Bangladesh and New Zealand by convincing margins to book their place in the last four, and overcame an early batting collapse to overcome Australia in a rain-affected match.
“You’ve got to play as if everything is on the line – that’s the nature of this tournament,” Morgan said.
“The important thing to reflect on is that we have actually won nothing and achieved nothing so far. Tomorrow is a very big game for us.”