Roy’s rampage England raring to go after pitch-perfect performance in last warm-up
Opener clubs 89 in easy win over Afghanistan Wood returns to practice and is fit for South Africa
This was a perfect end to England’s World Cup preparations with a straightforward victory done and dusted by the middle of the afternoon and, crucially, with no new injuries to report.
There was even good news concerning Mark Wood, who has been passed fit for the World Cup and will be available for Thursday’s opening game against South Africa, despite sparking alarm when he limped off against Australia at the weekend. It means Eoin Morgan can now look ahead to the real job, clear in his own mind about the team he wants to pick.
The England captain has also recovered from a broken finger he sustained on the eve of the Australia match and was down to bat against Afghanistan, only for those above him to knock off the 161-run target as England coasted to a nine-wicket win.
Given Wood’s history with injuries, the sight of him going off at the Ageas Bowl followed by news that he required a scan on his left ankle inevitably led to thoughts that his World Cup could be over. But a scan of his calf and ankle came back clear and he was out in the middle before play against Afghanistan, bowling on one of the practice wickets on the edge of the square.
“At the time I didn’t realise what the injury was. I jarred my foot when I landed bowling a slower ball and I thought I might have tweaked the bottom of my calf, but the scans came back and could not have been any better,” Wood said. “It was a positive result. I probably could have carried on bowling, but I did not want to take any risks. I will join in practice tomorrow and will be ready to go on Thursday.”
After the hiccup against Australia, England took no chances in this game. They will face much better opposition back at the Oval against South Africa, while this was a reality check for Afghanistan, whose batsmen were far too easily tied down by England’s seamers.
A target of 161 was reached in just 17.3 overs as England romped to victory with so much time to spare that some of the players went back out afterwards for a net.
Jason Roy hit 89 off 46 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes, setting the tone with a 77-run first-wicket stand with Jonny Bairstow. He finished the innings with a six over midwicket, and had barely broken sweat, such was the ease of the task at hand.
“It does a huge amount for confidence when Jason is hitting it as well as that,” Morgan said. “We feel ready. We have felt ready the last week or so. If we hadn’t played these warm-up games we would still have been in a position where we felt confident going into that first game.”
Afghanistan rested their leading batsman, opener Mohammad Shahzad, and it showed with their innings getting off to a limp start and lasting just 38.4 overs. They took 12 off the first over from Jofra Archer, but the shots owed much to fortune, with batsmen swinging and hoping. Once Archer found his range and went around the wicket to the left-handed Hazratullah Zazai, the fun stopped. He was suddenly cramped for room and topedged to mid-on.
Another short ball from Archer accounted for Rahmat Shah, and batsmen programmed to play T20 cricket, like Afghanistan’s, struggled to find a way when the big hits failed to come off. There was an absence of the ones and twos that good teams rely on to keep the score moving when the opposition are bowling well, and there were two run-outs in the Afghanistan innings to add to an iffy batting performance.
The final two wickets added 68 runs, with Mohammad Nabi making 44 from 42 balls. He attacked the spinners in an innings that contained three sixes. England stuck with their spin bowlers to give them a workout, which will be useful for Adil Rashid, who is still trying to recover full movement in his right shoulder after an injection last week.
Joe Root sent down his mix of off-spin and leggies, taking three for 22 – not because he bowled brilliantly but because batsmen flapped as the pressure grew. Hashmatullah Shahidi soaked up dot balls, making just 19 from 53 deliveries, which forced his team-mates to take further risks. Root’s best dismissal came with the wicket of Rashid Khan, first ball, who edged a sharp catch to Ben Stokes at slip.
Eventually England tired of watching Nabi flogging the spinners and summoned back Archer, who needed only four balls to end the innings. Nabi top-edged a cut that was juggled deliberately by Bairstow to avoid stepping over the rope with the ball in his hands.