Morgan’s World Cup hopes in doubt

ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss has admitted Eoin Morgan could be ruled out of the World Cup because of a fractured finger.

Morgan became the sixth England player to leave the tour of Australia after being diagnosed with the fracture to the middle finger in his left hand and will see a specialist tomorrow to determine how long he faces out of the game.

That information will be known when Strauss and team director Andy Flower meet with the England selectors upon their arrival back in the country on Tuesday, when they will discuss the possibility of injury replacements for the 15-man squad. Strauss admitted that Morgan is the player most at risk after describing the injury as a “substantial break”.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been sidelined for six weeks since he suffered a similar injury during the Ashes, and only returned to batting in the nets last week.

A similar timeframe would spell the end of Morgan’s World Cup hopes, even though Strauss intimated England may be willing to retain him for the latter stages.

“He’s got a broken finger, he’s going to see a specialist tomorrow to decide what the best course of action is to remedy that situation,” Strauss said.

“There’s obviously a chance that he’s not going to feature.

“We’re going to have to think through – at what stage is the cut-off point the guy needs to be replaced.

“We’re pretty confident the other guys are going to be fit, but Eoin Morgan we are not sure of at this stage.

“It’s a big loss for us potentially.

“He is particularly important in those conditions as well, being able to clear the ropes in the manner that he does.

“Hopefully there will be an opportunity for him to play.

“If he isn’t available someone is going to have to fill those shoes.”

Strauss and his team-mates will fly home from Perth with a slightly bitter taste in their mouths after a forgettable one-day series that saw them beaten 6-1.

However it also undermined their World Cup hopes due to the number of injuries suffered.

A 57-run defeat in Perth completed the protracted series that has seen World Cup squad members Graeme Swann (knee/back), Tim Bresnan (calf), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring), Paul Collingwood (back) and Morgan all leave the tour early.

With Stuart Broad also still recovering from the stomach injury he suffered during the Ashes, England have six of their World Cup squad sidelined less than a week before they are due to fly to the sub-continent.