LONDON – Ravi Bopara has replaced the injured Eoin Morgan in England’s World Cup squad after the former Ireland batsman was ruled out of the tournament with a broken finger on Tuesday.
Tests revealed Morgan had cracked the middle finger of his left hand during the fourth one-day international against Australia in Adelaide last month.
Initially, England thought the injury would heal in time for the World Cup, which gets underway in the Indian sub-continent on February 19.
But when Morgan experienced more pain, medical staff investigated further and, after he had played two further matches, discovered the fracture. The 24-year-old will have the finger operated on and is out of the entire World Cup. Morgan has been England’s most successful one-day batsman since making his debut in 2009 but coach Andy Flower insisted Bopara would be a valuable addition to the squad.
All-rounder Bopara got the vote ahead of his Essex colleague Alastair Cook who scored over 700 runs in England’s 3-1 Ashes Test series win in Australia but cannot command a regular one-day place. Flower reported that England’s other walking wounded Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett, a World Cup reserve, should all be fit for the team’s first match of the tournament proper against the Netherlands in Nagpur on February 22.
PRAVEEN KUMAR INJURED: India paceman Praveen Kumar has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an elbow injury and will be replaced by Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday. India had gambled on the fitness of Kumar, who had missed the recent five-match one-day series against South Africa, by including him in the 15-member squad for the Feb 19-April 2 showpiece event in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that Praveen Kumar can be replaced in the squad by Sreesanth,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement. The loss of Kumar, who has taken 57 wickets in 48 one-dayers at an average of 33.57, will be felt by the co-hosts as he delivered consistent line and length and varied pace.
His replacement, right-arm paceman Sreesanth, is known more for a volatile temperament and has been fined and cautioned on multiple occasions by the ICC and the Indian board.
HAURITZ, HUSSEY OUT: Australia dropped injured duo Nathan Hauritz and Mike Hussey from its World Cup squad on Monday, calling up Callum Ferguson and Jason Krejza to replace them at this month’s showpiece one-day tournament. Hussey and Hauritz were both in doubt after undergoing surgery on injuries and chief selector Andrew Hilditch said officials had decided to replace them and take a fully-fit squad to the World Cup which is starts on February 19.
“Based on the medical advice an application is being made to the ICC to replace both players in the World Cup squad,” Hilditch said in a statement.
“(Selectors have) determined that the best strategy to ensure a successful campaign is for Australia to enter the tournament with a fully fit squad of fifteen from the first game.”
