World Cup 2011: Bopara in England Squad as Morgan is ruled out

Tags: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, England, Ravinder Singh Bopara, Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan

Published on: Feb 09, 2011

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: England batsman Eoin Morgan is to miss the World Cup because of a broken finger and will be replaced by Ravi Bopara.

England batsman Eoin Morgan is to miss the World Cup because of a broken finger and will be replaced by Ravi Bopara.

Morgan missed the final one-day international of the recent series against Australia after fracturing the middle finger of his left hand, a problem he first became aware of in the fourth one-day match.

"He injured it in that Adelaide game and didn't think it was serious," the team director, Andy Flower, said. "But it got worse the more he played and practised. The pain grew worse and therefore the medical team got on to it. He needs to be operated on."

The Middlesex batsman was one of a number of England's World Cup squad who picked up injuries on the Australia tour. Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad, Paul Collingwood, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett all suffered knocks of varying seriousness.

Flower said there was "good news" regarding the majority of the injured players. But the fact that Morgan, perhaps the key man in England's limited-overs side, is missing, will be a big blow to the side's World Cup hopes.

Flower insisted that his replacement Bopara, the Essex all-rounder, who has been with the England Lions in the West Indies, will bring plenty to the squad.

"No one is irreplaceable," Flower said. "Ravi Bopara is a very talented and exciting player. He will also bring a bit of medium-pace bowling to help out. We're confident the 15 players we've got out there will gel."

The captain, Andrew Strauss, said of Bopara: "He hasn't had a chance to play for us recently and we like what he can bring to the game. His bowling and his batting, his ability to clear the ropes in the middle overs. He is going to be a worthy addition to our squad."

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