England sweat on Roy fitness after reaching T20 semi-finals
England face an anxious wait to discover whether Jason Roy will be able to participate in the rest of the T20 World Cup as their progress to the semi-finals was tempered by the opening batter’s calf injury.
While England suffered their first defeat of the campaign after going down by 10 runs to South Africa under the Sharjah lights, Eoin Morgan's side finished top of group one in the Super 12 to progress to the knockout stages.
However, Roy retired hurt intheirultimatelyforlornpursuitof190,collapsingtotheturf inagonyafterhobblingtocomplete a single before being carried off the field, putting the remainder of his tournament in apparent jeopardy.
Morgan said: “It's his calf. It obviously didn’t look great.
We’llwaittoseewhathismovementislike,probablysendhim for a scan and go from there.
“Obviously we're all hopeful he comes through in some manner, or there’s some remedy to get him through one, if not two games, but we need to do what’s best for Jason, ultimately, and then the team.
Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran were sidelinedbeforeEnglandmadethe trip to the Gulf, while Tymal Mills’ thigh strain in the previousgameagainstSriLankahas precluded his involvement for rest of the tournament.
Englandneednoreminding of Roy's worth to the team. He tore a hamstring in the group stages of the 2019 50-over World Cup group stage, missing defeats to Australia and Sri Lanka, but his return corresponded with an upturn in fortunes for the tournament hosts, who memorably went all the way.
Morgan said: “He’s unbelievably important. He’s a guy that epitomises everything we areaboutinthechangingroom and the way we play.
“You see how commanding he is at the top of the order, not onlyinT20cricket,but50-over cricket as well. He's as close as we get to surmising how the changing room should play.
“We're gutted for Jase, but also half hoping he’s okay. For anybodytomissthelatterstages of the tournament, particularly when it's been two guys in two games, that does hurt the mood (of the dressing room)."
Rassie van der Dussen's career-best94notoutandasparkling, unbeaten 52 off just 25 balls from Aiden Markram in a boundary-ladenunbroken103runpartnershipunderpinned what was an insurmountable 189-2 for the Proteas.
England got the equation down to 14 runs required off the last over, but Kagiso Rabada's hat-trick, with Morgan, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan all succumbing to catches on the boundary, was decisive.
However, while South Africafinishedleveloneightpoints alongside England and Australia, it was the old rivals who wentthroughthankstoasuperiornetrunrate–Morgan’sside reaching 106 guaranteed they were group winners.
Reflecting on a four-match winning streak coming to an end,Morgansaid:"Someofthe hardestmatchesofthetournament or tournaments that I've played in the past have been group stage games. It's very difficult to qualify.
“We’re not going to be at our best every game, but we do need to find ways to win. In the field we weren’t as intense as we have been in previous games, just small things we didn’t do as neatly as we would have liked.
“But a lot of teams finished having lost only one game and sides going through on net run rate really does show the strength within that particular group, so I’m happy we’re through to the semi-final.”