‘We must be flexible’ says Woakes as England wait for Morgan and Roy verdicts

England will have no qualms about tinkering with their World Cup blueprint if injury rules Eoin Morgan and Jason Roy out of facing Afghanistan.

The duo have been in rest andrecoverymodesincelimping out of the win over the West Indies, captain Morgan battling a painful back spasm and opening batsman Roy managing a tweaked hamstring.

The pair have been crucial to England’s explosive batting exploits in recent years and would create a major hole in the top four should they be ruled out of tomorrow’s game at Old Trafford.

Even so, they were not missed in the second half of the game against the Windies when Joe Root reeled off an unbeaten century after stepping into Roy’s shoes at opener and all-rounder Chris Woakes made an assured 40 at No 3.

The latter’s emergency promotion was a statement of strength by England, not least because he had never before batted higher than seven, and with Hampshire’s James Vince and Moeen Ali both waiting in the wings there is no shortage of options.

“If they [Morgan and Roy] are not quite ready we have to be flexible,” said Woakes, right. “In a World

Cup things aren’t always going to go to plan, so we have to be ready. There’s always going to be other players who have to play at some point.” Regardless of Woakes’ comfortable showing with the bat at the Hampshire Bowl, any reshuffling of the XI is unlikely to result in the 30-yearold remaining in position. He revealed a quiet word from head coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed his temporary elevation, an unexpected honour but one he was happy to embrace. “I didn’t wake up in the morning expecting to bat at No 3, so I’m just pleased it went well and we picked up the points,” he said. “I was delighted to get the opportunity to bat three, I don’t think I ever have before. Coming off at half-time I got the tap on the shoulder from TB. The plan was to keep the middle order settled and not to move too many people around. Thankfully we were only chasing 213. If it was 300 we might have been a bit more nervous.”

Vince is on standby to open the batting if Roy needs more time, while England could recall all-rounder Moeen Ali should Morgan be ruled out. That would require another reshuffle of the order, placing an increased importance on the in-form Root.

“Rooty batted beautifully throughout against the West Indies,” said Woakes, after sharing a century stand with the Test captain. “He’s a world-class player so to watch him operate from the other end is great.”