England to gamble on Roy and Archer
EOIN MORGAN has admitted he would risk the short-term fitness of Jason Roy and Jofra Archer for England’s crucial World Cup game against India at Edgbaston today.
Roy is hoping to return from a hamstring injury after missing three games, while Archer has a slight side strain.
But Pakistan’s last-over win against Afghanistan yesterday means England may have to beat both India and New Zealand to reach the semi-final, leaving Morgan to consider going for broke.
The England captain said Roy’s selection would depend on ‘the significance of the risk’.
He added: ‘If it was going to rule him out long-term, absolutely not. If it was going to rule him out for a couple of weeks, yes.’
Asked about Archer, Morgan replied: ‘The same rule applies.’
He explained: ‘There are two more group-stage games left. If we win both, we go through to the semifinals. If we win that, we get through to a World Cup final. There is still a lot on the line and we are looking forward to it.’
Defeat would leave England needing to beat New Zealand on Wednesday and hope other results go their way.
So there can be no blame games at Edgbaston today. No moaning about the pitches. No dark theories about the motivation of their critics. No grumbles about the size or noise of the Indian fans.
Only victory will do, though even that may not be enough. At a stage of the World Cup where they were supposed to be limbering up for the semi-finals, England are fighting for their reputations.
For many of the players, this will be the biggest game of their lives. No wonder Morgan has issued a statesman-like call for ‘courage’.
The doomsday scenario — inconceivable a month ago when England were disposing of South Africa in the tournament opener and Ben Stokes’ miracle catch was going viral — has them knocked out as early as Tuesday.
That would involve defeat today, followed by a Bangladesh victory over India at Edgbaston.
Morgan’s team would then take on New Zealand at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday knowing that Bangladesh and Pakistan, who meet on Friday at Lord’s, have a point more than them and could be denied only by a washout or a tie.
To exit the tournament with a game to go would be a repeat of their disastrous 2015 campaign, widely regarded as England’s World Cup nadir.
This, however, would be worse because they are at home and began as world No1 and favourites. They are No 2 now and threatening to join the also-rans.
With the sport desperate to attract a new following ahead of next summer’s 100-ball domestic competition, the disappointment at every level of English cricket would be crushing.
It is not a scenario Morgan was contemplating as he prepared to put right the defeats by Sri Lanka and Australia that have derailed England’s World Cup.
‘Last time we played India, we beat them in a series,’ he said. ‘We lost away in a very close series but we believe, because we have beaten them before.’
But it will all be just tinkering at the edges if England repeat the errors of their last two matches and fail to adapt to pitches which have lacked the pace their batsmen enjoy.
‘It has been the most difficult part of the World Cup for us,’ admitted Morgan. ‘We haven’t adapted well enough. In order for us to adapt well to these wickets, we need to be on the better side of our game — which we haven’t been.’
The vibe yesterday at Edgbaston was that the pitch — a fresh one — for the India match would be batsmen-friendly, which at least put a spring in the captain’s step.
‘If it’s like that, we’re happy,’ said the Irishman. ‘We won’t have to think about adapting too much, or fighting our natural game.
‘This game is about being clear about how we’re going to go about it collectively, showing a huge amount of positivity.’