Cricket: Woakes injury a worry for England

Joe Root top-scored for England with an unbeaten 133. Photo / Photosport

Eoin Morgan admits losing Chris Woakes will be a significant blow to England if his side strain rules him out of the rest of the Champions Trophy.

Woakes had a scan on his left side yesterday after the victory by eight wickets over Bangladesh and his tournament appears likely to be over. The injury will force England to call up a replacement for the all-rounder who has become an integral part of their one-day team, opening the bowling and lengthening the batting.

Joe Root is also nursing a calf strain suffered when he rolled his ankle during his 10th one-day hundred and Ben Stokes' knee will continue to be monitored after Woakes' injury obliged him to bowl more overs than planned.

Woakes is the biggest worry. He missed two matches against South Africa with a slight thigh strain but this injury is far worse. A side strain is a tricky injury for a seam bowler to shake off and can easily be made worse by trying to play through the pain. England will also have one eye on the test series against South Africa, which starts at Lord's on July 6.

David Willey is next in line in the squad to replace Woakes but England will call up a replacement, with Toby Roland-Jones of Middlesex and Steven Finn the front-runners after playing at Lord's on Monday.

Stuart Broad is the most experienced and would be the best replacement but he has played only two ODIs since the last World Cup.

The injury to Woakes took some of the gloss of England's run chase, the highest in Champions Trophy history.

The hosts hauled in Bangladesh's 305-6 by scoring 308-2 with 16 balls to spare in a brilliant start to the eighth championship. An unbeaten 133 by Root, 95 by opener Alex Hales and an unbeaten 75 by Morgan paced an aggressive England to a comfortable win in sunny conditions.

"He's obviously been very impressive for us over the last couple of years, and a mainstay, very reliable guy," said Morgan. "And it is a worry when he goes off the field and can't come back on and bowl. Side strains are a big confidence thing. He would definitely be a loss if he couldn't play. Potentially Woakes is a worry for the rest of the tournament. We have to wait and see. Ben Stokes has bowled seven overs which we thought was a stretch for him but he hasn't felt his knee all day."

Root mastered the run chase without taking risks. Despite the pain of his injury, 74 of his first 100 runs came through singles or twos as he played a measured innings, only hitting out once the target was in sight.

"It was very satisfying," he said. "That is one of the things you strive for as a batter is to make a big contribution and be not out at the end. It is a great statement from us but it also fills us with confidence going into the next game. It's a really good start and something to build on and hopefully now we can do that. The calf is all right. It looks like it is just a bit of cramp. I don't see it as a big issue. The medical team are pretty happy with it, I am happy with it and it seemed to ease off at the end of the innings."

England left out Adil Rashid for this game based on the fact they felt Bangladesh would be susceptible against a seam attack. Rashid is a confidence player, and having played 41 of England's 44 matches since the last World Cup, being left out for the opening match of a home global tournament is a knock-back. Another low score for Jason Roy puts more pressure on him but Morgan again gave him his full backing.

"I thought he was terribly unlucky. It was quite smart, bowling a slower ball from the opening bowler, and brave. It was a big gamble. But that sort of stuff can happen. You can get out in that sort of fashion when you're short on runs. But, yeah, certainly we believe in him," said Morgan.