ROY’S ROLLED
Jason injury mars march to semis
ENGLAND were left to count the cost of their final group game after opener Jason Roy was carried off mid-innings with a calf injury.
Skipper Eoin Morgan admitted the team were “gutted” to see Roy in such pain after first feeling his left leg in the field and then being forced off while batting.
Losing the game by 10 runs to South Africa, who were knocked out despite just one defeat, comes secondary to the impact that the loss of Roy could have for the semi-final and beyond.
His impetus at the top of the order has been a huge factor in England’s white ball success in recent years and even though there is a ready-made replacement in Jonny Bairstow, the loss of Roy after Tymal Mills’ injury exit is a major setback.
“We’re gutted for Jase,” said Morgan. “But we’re half hoping he’s okay. For anyone to miss the latter stages of the tournament is tough and we care about those guys who have put a lot of work in to get here.
“The overriding emotion is empathy and sympathy for what Jason is going through. He will have a scan and we’ll see if there is anything that can be done.
“He would be a massive miss for us because he epitomises everything about this team with the way he plays and the quality he brings at the top of the order.”
Roy and Jos Buttler gave England a terrific start in their hunt for the 190-run target but both men had gone by the end of the powerplay with the score on 59-1.
Moeen Ali was promoted to No.3 with Dawid Malan in at No.5 and the switch seemed to work as the pair scored 37 and 33 respectively.
England made sure they stayed in the hunt and got the first couple of jobs done without fuss – firstly scoring more than 86 to ensure their place in the last four and then passing 106 to go through as group winners.
Australia will have had a cheer once England moved past 130 because that confirmed their spot in the semi-finals at the expense of the Proteas on net run rate.
Kagiso Rabada claimed a bitter sweet hat-trick in the final over of the game as England tried and failed to launch the sixes they needed to win.
Mogan said: “Topping the group is great as we know how hard it is to get through.”