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Cricket World Cup 2019

Eoin Morgan assures injuries in England camp not alarming

Morgan
by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

England captain Eoin Morgan believes that there isn’t a cause for panic, despite injuries to Jason Roy, and Morgan himself, during the side’s recent win over West Indies.

As England continued their march in the World Cup 2019, beating West Indies with a convincing margin of eight wickets, there were worrying signs for the team, and fans, as Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan left the field with injuries in the first half of the game.

The English skipper went off the field due to back problems in the 40th over of the West Indies innings, soon after their opening batsman, Roy, was forced to walk off after hurting his hamstring earlier in the day.

Morgan, who was in discomfort during the post-match press conference, assured that there wasn’t any cause for big worry, ahead of their next match, against Afghanistan, on Tuesday.

Roy

Roy had to leave the field after a troublesome hamstring

“It is sore. I have had back spasms before – we think it’s that – and they normally take a few days to settle down,” Morgan said, about his troublesome back. “We’ll know more in the next 24 hours.”

Talking about Roy’s injury, Morgan said that the status will be known within the next couple of days, after the opening batsman undergoes scans.

“I don’t know how [Roy] pulled up, he’ll have a scan and it will take 48 hours to get the full results. When any two players go down it’s a worry but we’re not at panic stations. We’ll do a risk assessment before the Afghanistan game.”

Roy, who had been sidelined for seven weeks after suffering a strain on the same hamstring earlier this year, will be hoping that the layoff isn’t a long one. The right-hander, who had scored a stroke-filled 153 against Bangladesh at Cardiff, the highest individual score of the tournament so far, was replaced by Joe Root as Jonny Bairstow’s opening partner.

Root

Root scored his 16th ODI century in England’s 8-wicket win

Root, opening for the first time in his ODI career, scored a fluent century, after he had picked up crucial wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder earlier in the day. The English skipper seemed immensely satisfied with his star batsman’s contribution.

“Exceptionally pleased,” exclaimed Morgan, speaking about Root. “I think he is now the highest run scorer in the tournament. He’s scored two hundreds. He’s such an important player for us. He is the glue that holds everything together and probably a side of his batting that has got better over the last two or three years that people haven’t seen a lot of, his expansive game.”

With Roy uncertain, James Vince might get a look in, as England play Afghanistan at Old Trafford on Tuesday, 18 June. Moeen Ali, who didn’t feature against Bangladesh and West Indies, might also make a comeback to the side.

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