Jason Roy’s injury dent England’s 20-20 World Cup campaign

England suffered their first loss of the 20-20 World Cup as they succumbed to South Africa by 10 runs. Despite the loss, England will be pleased with the way they batted. Chasing a target of 190, the team managed to score 180 which reflects the mindset and the form of their players. The team also qualified for the semifinals as the top-ranked team on account of a better net run rate. England will now take on the second team from Group B.

Ahead of the semifinals, the team is sweating over the fitness of opener Jason Roy, who had pulled his calf muscle while batting against the Proteas. Roy was in searing pain and limped off the field retired hurt at 20 off 15 balls. England openers, Roy and Jos Buttler have been instrumental in the team’s success over the years. The duo’s blistering starts set up the platform for the likes of Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone to go berserk from ball one.

Roy has been in good form in the tournament as well, scoring 132 runs at a strike rate of 138 in the five games that he has played. The injury is definitely a massive setback. England skipper Eoin Morgan at the post-match presentation admitted that Roy’s condition is not looking good at the moment.

“It’s his calf. It obviously didn’t look great. And we will wait until tomorrow to see what his movement is like. Probably send him for a scan and then go from there. Apart from that, can’t tell you much,” Morgan said.

England will most probably play their semi-final on November 10. With just three days to go, England will be hoping that Roy’s injury is not a serious one and he recovers before the match. Morgan too is optimistic about Roy regaining peak fitness before the semifinals.

“It’s difficult to assume. Obviously, we are all hopeful that he comes through in some manner or there’s some remedy to get him through one, if not two games. But we need to do what’s best for Jason ultimately and then the team.”