Eoin Morgan is relieved he will be ready to captain England in their upcoming one-day internationals against Scotland and Australia despite a broken finger.
Morgan has had to pull out of captaining the World XI in Thursday’s Twenty20 clash with the West Indies at Lord’s – but will be ready when England start their ODI schedule against Scotland on June 10.
The England skipper was named in a 13-man squad to face Scotland and also a 14-strong line-up for the five clashes with Australia, that starts at The Oval on June 13.
“I have a small fracture in the ring finger of my right hand,” Morgan told Press Association Sport.
“I got hit in a game on Sunday at Somerset.
“It’s disappointing but it’s not the worst news that could have come through.
“It’s a week to 10 days to get the swelling down in the finger and then protect it as we go on.
“So it’s a relief that I’ll be ready, yes.
“We never thought it was that bad a break, it didn’t dislocate, which is always a good sign.
“I’m excited about playing against Australia and India this summer, and I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Official: We have named our ODI squads to face Scotland and Australia.
➡️ https://t.co/yixxZIT7jH pic.twitter.com/jOBAiq6l0J
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 30, 2018
Sam Billings will deputise for wicketkeeper Jos Buttler for the Scotland clash, with seamer Tom Curran bolstering the ranks for the Australia series.
Morgan has warned England to beware Australia’s determination to move past the recriminations of the ball-tampering affair in March’s Test series with South Africa that stunned the global game.
Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were hit with year-long bans, while batsman Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month sanction.
Darren Lehman was cleared by Cricket Australia of any involvement but he stepped down from his coaching role in a wide-ranging fall-out from the scandal.
But now Morgan has backed the Australians to put all that in the past – and has told his England squad to be wary of the wounded visitors.
“I think they will be ready, and with one eye on the World Cup they will come with a strong performance,” said Morgan, speaking at an event to mark one year until the start of Cricket World Cup 2019.
“What’s happened to them in the last six months has the potential to galvanise a young, hungry side.
“So we’re going to have bring our A game to this series. And again it’s going to be a good challenge for us moving forward.”
England squad v Scotland: EJG Morgan (Captain), MM Ali, JM Bairstow, SW Billings (wkt), AD Hales, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, JE Root, JJ Roy, BA Stokes, DJ Willey, CR Woakes, MA Wood.
England squad v Australia: EJG Morgan (Captain), MM Ali, JM Bairstow, JC Buttler (wkt), TK Curran, AD Hales, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, JE Root, JJ Roy, BA Stokes, DJ Willey, CR Woakes, MA Wood.