We’re ready to roll
ENGLAND FIT AND FIRING FOR OPENER
ThE preparations are almost complete and the waiting is nearly over. England safely negotiated their last hurdle before the World Cup with a crushing win over Afghanistan at the Oval yesterday as they head towards the big one on Thursday.
They will approach their first game against South Africa serenely, too, after overcoming the little cluster of injuries that briefly threatened to inconvenience the hosts and strong tournament favourites.
Captain Eoin Morgan could have batted yesterday against the cup minnows just three days after damaging his left index finger, and Mark Wood will be good to go against South Africa after his latest left ankle scare. That means ten members of England’s starting XI can be predicted with confidence, with Wood, Liam Plunkett and Tom Curran competing for the final bowling place alongside certainties Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
The fact Archer’s place is already guaranteed is no surprise, such an emphatic impression has he made in his short time with the team. And the newcomer was at it again yesterday with two early wickets and three in all as Afghanistan were hustled out for 160.
But the identity of the other leading wicket-taker was a little more surprising, Joe Root proving again he is a more than decent extra spin option with three wickets of his own including the dismissal of Rashid Khan with one of his newly employed leg-breaks.
Then England treated the Afghanistan attack with disdain as they rattled along at ten an over. Jason Roy emphasised he is in the form of his life and that he will be a key man for England at this World Cup by smashing an unbeaten 89 off 46 balls.
‘We’re very happy with today as a whole,’ said Morgan, who was not even required to bat as England romped home by nine wickets in only 17.3 overs.
‘There was the best possible news on my finger and Woody’s ankle. For Woody’s scan to come back as clear as can be was great and we’re both ready. My injury looked worse than it was and I was lucky it was a dislocation rather than a break. That would have been a bigger setback.’
In truth, this was hardly an examination of an England squad who were ready for the cup when they defeated Pakistan 4-0 in their pre-tournament series.
Afghanistan may have done well to have qualified and, in Rashid, possess one of the best white-ball bowlers in the world, but here they looked every bit the associate nation struggling to mix it with the big boys.
They were more like sloggers than big hitters when they tried to get after the England attack and their running between the wickets was shambolic, emphasised by two needless run outs. Only when tail-ender Mohammad Nabi swung lustily to hit three sixes did Afghanistan ever threaten respectability as they recovered from the depths of 92 for eight to add 68 for the last two wickets. It was not nearly enough.
Afghanistan’s strength is in their spin but there was little here to trouble England’s big hitters, only a slightly fortuitous stumping off Nabi doing for Bairstow. They had no such luck against Roy, who was destructive with four sixes and 11 fours while Root satisfied himself with some gentle practice.
‘When Jason is hitting it as well as that, it not only imposes our game on the opposition but it also feeds right through the changing room,’ said Morgan.
‘The aggressive, authoritative way he plays builds a lot of confidence and Jonny is the same. It’s brilliant.’ Probable England XI v South Africa at the Oval on Thursday: Roy, Bairstow, Root, Morgan (captain), Buttler (wicketkeeper), Stokes, Moeen, Woakes, Rashid, Wood (or Plunkett), Archer.