Champions Trophy: England's Chris Woakes to have scan on side injury
Friday 2 June 2017 09:11, UK
All-rounder Chris Woakes will have a scan on a side injury that allowed him to bowl only two overs in England's eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Woakes left the field of play after conceding just four runs leaving captain Eoin Morgan to juggle his death bowling options at the Oval, where England chased down Bangladesh's 305-6 with 16 balls remaining.
Morgan declared that Woakes was 100 per cent fit after a thigh injury on the eve of the match but Sky Sports commentator Nasser Hussain expressed early concern about the all-rounder's fitness after Woakes failed to take a full part in England's warm-up session.
Ben Stokes showed no obvious sign of discomfort as he completed seven overs in Bangladesh's innings but Joe Root hobbled through much of his unbeaten 133 after going over on his ankle.
Reflecting on England's list of injuries, Morgan said: "Chris is probably the biggest concern, he'll go for a scan tonight on his side.
"At the moment it doesn't feel right, he went straight off the field and didn't come back on."
Root was hopeful his injury was nothing serious after he stumbled awkwardly away from a shot on the leg side.
He said: "The ankle's okay, it's more of a calf issue - hopefully it's just some bad cramp."
Root told Sky Sports he never had any doubts England would chase their target, adding: "We're a side that's getting better at it.
"There's a lot of confidence, we back each other's ability, and that's rubbing off on the team. It's nice to know you've got players like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler to come in behind you.
"It was just making sure we kept plenty of wickets in hand, and someone like Alex Hales is not going to score slowly if he bats for a long time."
Morgan agreed: "When the guys bat like that, it's a lot easier than used to be, having Joe Root in the side and an in-form Alex Hales.
"Joe's the glue in our side, he's scored a lot of runs in the last couple of years and it's not slow, he's scoring at pace and he's worked hard at his power hitting."
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza was frustrated after his side failed to convert Tamim Iqbal's 128, backed by 79 from Mushfiqur Rahim, into an even more testing total.
"We thought 305, on this wicket, it's maybe a little bit short," he said. "At the end, when we had six or seven wickets in hand, it could have been a lot better.
"Then in the middle (of England's innings) we couldn't get any wickets, Root batted really well and took the game away from us."
Watch New Zealand take on Australia in the second match of the ICC Champions Trophy from 10am on Friday, on Sky Sports 2.
