LUCKY BREAK
Morgan fractures finger but captain insists he WILL be fit for World Cup
Eoin Morgan suffered a World Cup scare after fracturing a finger in practice yesterday, but the England captain vows he will be fit to face South africa in Thursday’s opener.
Morgan winced and was clearly in pain when he was struck on the index finger of his left hand while taking fierce catches propelled by a bowling machine before today’s warm-up game at Southampton against australia.
He immediately left the field and plunged his finger in ice to try to reduce the swelling before he left for an X-ray at hospital.
Morgan said: ‘The digit is the best i could have hoped. i dropped a catch at training and dislocated it and there’s a very small fracture in there. But i’m good to go. i’m going to miss the warm-up game but regarding the first
game of the tournament, I should be fit to go. It’s very good news. I was delighted.’ England confirmed 32-year-old Morgan had sustained a ‘small flake’ fracture and also insisted he will be fit for the opener at the Oval. The injury does not require a cast and is treated the same way as a sprain. Jos Buttler will take over the captaincy while James Vince, brought into the squad for the disgraced Alex Hales, should get the chance to play for England on his home Hampshire ground in their penultimate warm-up. The absence of Morgan for any part of the tournament would be a huge setback, as much for his inspirational captaincy as batting that has seen him in sublime form recently. England can only replace an injured player from their final 15 for the whole tournament, so their squad would be depleted should Morgan take longer to recover from a small section of bone being pulled off his finger where ligaments attach to the bone. Their preparations for the tournament have been meticulous and they looked raring to go when they outclassed Pakistan 4-0 to stretch their unbeaten run in 50-over cricket to 11 series. There is another injury concern as Adil Rashid will miss today’s match after having a third cortisone injection this season in his sore right shoulder. England are again adamant that the problem is simply being managed. Rashid’s absence against Australia opens the door for Hampshire left-arm spinner Liam Dawson.
KAGISO RABADA admits he is still a ‘work in progress’ as South Africa’s premier fast bowler recovers from injury ahead of the tournament opener against England. Rabada picked up a back strain in this year’s Indian Premier League, which he was forced to leave early, and said: ‘There is no pain. I’m feeling all right. It’s all a work in progress at the moment. It will be a challenge for me to get ready before the tournament starts. I need to work on a few things.’