LONDON: England captain Eoin Morgan suffered a “small fracture” to his left index finger on Friday, but is expected to be fit in time for the hosts’ World Cup opener against South Africa next week.

Morgan was practising with his teammates at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton ahead of Saturday’s unofficial World Cup warm-up against Australia when he took a blow during catching drills.

It was a major scare for England just six days before the World Cup, but there was relatively good news for Morgan after an X-ray showed the damage wasn’t as bad as feared.

“England captain Eoin Morgan has sustained a small flake fracture to his left index finger,” an ECB statement said. “He will not take part in the match [against Australia], but is expected to make a full recovery and be available for England’s opening World Cup match against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.”

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2019