Quantcast

Captain Morgan in doubt for T20Is

Captain's injury a concern for England as they battle to keep their tri-series alive

England are sweating on the fitness of skipper Eoin Morgan for the remainder of the Twenty20 tri-series after losing to Australia by seven wickets in Melbourne.

Morgan was a late omission for Saturday night's match at the MCG after straining his right groin at training on Friday.

His side struggled in his absence, setting Australia a target of 138 which they achieved with 27 balls to spare.

The injury could prove to be a major blow for England with stand-in skipper Jos Buttler admitting he was unsure whether Morgan would be available for the New Zealand leg of the series, starting with a clash against the Black Caps on Tuesday.

"He got a little niggle yesterday in training," Buttler said.

"I don't think we quite know the extent of it yet so we'll wait and find out."

Top moments from Australia's T20 triumph

Buttler top-scored for England with 46 but was unable to break the shackles imposed by Australia's disciplined bowling attack.

England's risky batting approach was again exposed with aggressive openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales both falling cheaply.

The unbeaten Australians are now assured of a spot in the February 21 final in Auckland after downing England by five wickets in Hobart and beating New Zealand in the series opener.

England will face New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday and again in Hamilton the following Sunday requiring victory in at least one of those games to ensure they make the final.

"That's the beauty of a tri-series. We still have a chance to make that final," Buttler said.

"We obviously go to New Zealand now. It'll be a nice change of scene, I think, for the England side.

"We haven't showcased our ability as we know we can yet and there's guys in that dressing room who'll be determined to come back strong."

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler. 

First T20I Australia won by seven wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I Australia won by five wickets. Scorecard

Third T20I Australia won by seven wickets. Scorecard

Fourth T20I NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21