England duo '50-50' for T20 opener

Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett have been rated a 50-50 chance for England's Gillette T20 Tri-Series opener against Australia in Hobart on Wednesday.

Roy, the dashing opener who scored a record-breaking 180 at the MCG last month, missed Friday's warm-up match in Canberra due to a back spasm, while Plunkett is still nursing a hamstring strain that kept him out of the final two matches of the recent ODI series.

While batsman Alex Hales (hand) and paceman Chris Jordan (hamstring) are expected to play, skipper Eoin Morgan said Roy and Plunkett are both in some doubt.

"Jordan and Hales are expected to be fit, Plunkett and Roy are closer to 50-50," Morgan said.

"Jason had a light back spasm, overnight that got worse. He woke up Friday and it was worse. It could be five days which runs him tight up to the game in Hobart."

Morgan conceded the distance his side has travelled in recent weeks and the number of flights they've taken hasn't helped his players shake off any niggling injuries.

Having played in Adelaide on January 26, the tourists headed west to Perth for a match on January 28 and then back across the country to Canberra to take on the Prime Minister's XI on February 2. The squad flew to Hobart via Melbourne from Canberra on Saturday.

"One of the reasons the injuries have been niggly is the flight over to Canberra, then two training days," Morgan said.

"Perhaps we’ll look at that again. We do a lot of flying in this series so we might not train as much as we’re supposed to. Rest and recuperation might limit the injuries a little."

There are more flights ahead of the tourists as well; following Wednesday's game in Tasmania, they will head back to Melbourne for a game at the MCG on Saturday before heading across the Tasman Sea to take on New Zealand in Wellington on the following Tuesday.

While the possible absence of Roy for the game at Blundstone Arena would be a blow, England have no shortage of replacements at the top of the order.

James Vince would be the favourite the step in alongside Hales if Roy is ruled out, while allrounder David Willey put forward a strong case with a blistering innings at Manuka Oval that included 34 off one over from Test spinner Nathan Lyon.

Opening alongside Vince, the left-handed Willey hammered 76 from just 36 balls including five consecutive sixes off Lyon's bowling.

"We’ve guys queuing up at the minute, which is great," Morgan said.

"Dave could be an option at the top. He was asked to go and open and was phenomenal, really.

"Five balls in I was sure he was going to hit a sixth six, it just felt like he would. It was Chris Gayle-esque hitting."

Australia won the opening match of the tri-series against New Zealand by seven wickets on Saturday night.

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler. 

First T20I Australia won by seven wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21