Eoin Morgan has admitted England are prepared to take a risk with the fitness of Jason Roy and Jofra Archer in Sunday’s match against India.
England go into the game knowing that they almost certainly need to win it to keep their World Cup hopes alive. As a result, they are desperate to play their first-choice side even if it involves risking their involvement later in the tournament.
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Roy had missed England last three World Cup games – two of which have been defeats – after sustaining a hamstring injury during the match against West Indies. His replacement, James Vince, has managed just 40 runs in three innings while Roy has passed fifty in five of his last six ODIs in a spell that includes two centuries.
Archer, meanwhile, has been suffering from some stiffness in his side. His average pace has dropped a little in that period and he did not bowl in training on Friday.
Both men are set to train on Saturday, however, and undergo some sort of fitness test on Sunday morning ahead of the game. Morgan made no secret of his desire to play both of them.
“Jason is preparing to play tomorrow,” Morgan said on Saturday. “Provided he gets through today’s practice and tomorrow morning unscathed. We think he might be fit to play.
“If him playing is going to rule him out long-term, then absolutely not,” Morgan replied to a question asking if Roy would be risked for the game. “But if it’s going to rule him out for a couple of weeks, yes.
“The exact same thing applies with Archer. “If it’s long-term (risk), then no. if it’s short-term, then yes.
“Again, we’re going to see how he comes through today. It’s the same thing he’s been playing with the last three games.”
Morgan also accepted that, with many India supporters expected at Edgbaston on Sunday, it may feel like an away game. Some estimates suggest as many as 80 percent of spectators may be supporting India in a scenario that reminded Morgan of the Champions Trophy final played at the same ground in 2013.
“I sort of recall the Champions Trophy final we played here against India,” Morgan said. “It was a complete away game. We had a number of fans in the ground, but the noise the Indian fans make with horns makes it that much louder. So yes, tomorrow will feel like an away game.”
In one way, this match may prove quite different. That Champions Trophy match was played on a very dry – though new – surface which offered considerable assistance to the spinners. This match will be played on a fresh pitch which looks considerably better than any of those seen at Edgbaston in the tournament to date. It is not expected to provide much assistance to spinners – or seamers – and could prove to be a high-scoring encounter.
“We want to play on best possible batting wicket and we always do,” Morgan said. “We bat deep and we bat strong. It’s an area we’re more confident. Everybody knows that.
“But where we’ve let ourselves down as a group if adapting to conditions. It’s been a bigger challenge in this World Cup than previous bilateral series that we’ve played. Tomorrow is going to be the same. We’re going to have to adapt to conditions and to playing against a strong side in India.”