JOE LAUNCHES THE GLORY BID
Root defies cramp to guide England as Woakes is sidelined
IT WAS convincing enough by the end but, with Joe Root hobbling his way to his highest one-day score to join an increasing band of walking wounded, England’s opening Champions Trophy victory came at a cost.
They had begun their attempt to finally win a global, 50- over tournament at The Oval yesterday by seeing Chris Woakes pull up after bowling two overs.
Then, after Ben Stokes had eased his way through seven overs to protect his damaged left knee, Root gave England more cause for concern when he appeared to suffer a calf injury during a nervesettling, unbeaten 133.
Root later insisted it was just cramp which came as relief to England after they had turned what looked a hazardous opening encounter into a relative canter by chasing down Bangladesh’s 305 for six with 16 balls to spare.
But the medical staff will still be working overtime, not least on Woakes, before England’s second group game against New Zealand at Cardiff on Tuesday.
Root made sure England overcame the early loss of Jason Roy to add 159 with Alex Hales and 143 with captain Eoin Morgan, who cruised to a superlative 75 off 61 balls. After defeating a team who beat them at the last two World Cups, England know one more group win against New Zealand or Australia will probably earn a semi-final place.
England could not have got off to a worse start when they lost one of their most important bowlers, probably for the whole tournament, in Woakes.
He was missing from the last two internationals against South Africa with what was described as a minor thigh muscle injury but England were adamant he was fully fit for this game.
Instead came the sight of a dejected Woakes leaving the Oval outfield almost as soon as he had arrived, with his shirt pulled over his face after suffering what appears a serious side problem.
It is a huge blow to England — not just for the Champions Trophy but perhaps even for next month’s Test series against South Africa as side injuries can be devilishly hard to shake off for bowlers.
Steven Finn, Toby Roland-Jones and Tom Curran will all be considered but England should contemplate ending Stuart Broad’s one-day exile if Woakes is ruled out today.
Woakes’s injury followed the surprise move to leave out Adil Rashid, England’s most successful one- day bowler since the last World Cup, with Morgan wanting an extra seam option in Jake Ball.
The logic was understandable in that Woakes and Stokes were returning from injuries and Bangladesh traditionally play spin better than seam. But it did seem odd coming after Morgan had extolled the virtues of consistent selection.
As it turned out, Ball was expensive but Stokes was able to bowl without any apparent discomfort and made the initial breakthrough with his sixth ball.
And When Mark Wood pulled off a brilliant diving catch to send back Imrul Kayes, English nerves began to ease. But the very real prospect of an upset emerged when Tamim flourished in a partnership of 166 with Mushfiqur Rahim.
England were certainly not at their best with the ball and their frustration threatened to boil over when Stokes clashed with his old adversary Tamim in a heated verbal exchange that forced umpire Sundaram Ravi to step in.
Stokes and Tamim were at the centre of ugly scenes during a oneday international in Dhaka last winter when England were annoyed at what they believed was particularly unsavoury sledging.
Now umpire Ravi separated the pair and told Morgan to calm his man down before Stokes, relishing his role as pantomime villain, encouraged the large Bangladesh contingent in the Oval crowd to boo him on the boundary.
When Bangladesh were poised on 261 for two in the 44th over a score of 330 was very much on the cards, but Liam Plunkett changed the course of this match by taking two wickets in two balls.
Tamim and, foolishly, Rahim fell consecutively and Plunkett ended up with four wickets.
Roy received the ultimate vote of confidence from Morgan when he said he would play throughout this tournament no matter how often he failed but it did nothing to settle his nerves as he fell for his fifth single-figure score in six innings.
It was to be England’s only real alarm, even though Hales fell trying to reach his hundred with a second consecutive six, as they became the first side to successfully chase 300-plus in a Champions Trophy match. Root had only converted one of his last 10 one- day half- centuries into three figures but his 10th ODI hundred never looked in doubt even though he seemed to hurt his calf attempting a pull shot when he had made 62.
No runners are allowed in international cricket now, so Root had to battle through with the help of treatment at a drinks break and a painkilling tablet.
England’s poise was only disturbed when Tamim was angry again after he appeared to pull off a spectacular catch at long- on with Morgan on 22. The ever unsatisfactory reliance on foreshortened TV images cost Bangladesh.
Job done, then, by England, with an impressive net run-rate to boot and both Root and England assure us he will be fine.
But we heard the same with Woakes and Stokes ahead of this tournament, so there will be an anxious wait for medical updates before the Champions Trophy bandwagon rolls into Wales.