England faced Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
England are finally hitting form at this tournament with Friday's eight-wicket win over the West Indies coming fresh from a thrashing of Bangladesh early last week. And they continued their fine run with Eoin Morgan the star of the show with a record-breaking hundred in a comfortable win over the tournament minnows.
Here's how it played out.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of England vs Afghanistan at Old Trafford.
The hosts are on a roll and will be looking to cement their top four place with a win over the tournament minnows.
They'll have to keep their wits about them, however, and will do so without the injured Jason Roy.
Stay with us for all the latest throughout the day.
Morning morning.
Another potential banana skin for England to negotiate, then, as they continue to plot their route into the top-four.
It's a used pitch that spun on Sunday, and Afghanistan's strength in that regard should offer an intriguing test for England's batting order.
Eoin Morgan IS FIT, and out in the middle for the toss with Gulbadin Naib...
England win the toss and elect to BAT first.
Jason Roy misses out for England with that hamstring tear, with James Vince in.
Liam Plunkett has had a stomach complaint and also drops out, with England bringing back Moeen Ali with the pitch expected to turn.
"It looks a really good wicket," Eoin Morgan notes. "It played well the other day."
THREE changes for Afghanistan, with Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the side by the sounds of things. Plenty of spin options. We'll confirm those teams in a moment.
Jason Roy's hamstring tear is a real concern for England, who have not yet confirmed the severity of the injury, but have effectively ruled him out of both this game and Friday's clash with Sri Lanka with a view to getting him back amongst things for the Australia game next week.
A big opportunity for James Vince, who will open in Roy's absence.
Team News - England
It sounds like Afghanistan have dropped Hazratullah Zazai (boo!), Hamid Hassan (double boo!) and Aftab Alam (makes a lot of sense).
An opener and two seamers out. Muddled thinking, you'd think.
Team News - Afghanistan
Those changes have been confirmed, and captain Gulbadin Naib is down on the card to open, which would be an odd move.
1 Noor Ali Zadran, 2 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Asghar Afghan, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Dawlat Zadran
The World Cup thus far has been disastrous for Afghanistan. Tipped by many as a side not to be taking lightly, issues both on and off the field have handicapped their campaign. Naib's installation as captain prior to the tournament was not met warmly by the playing group with Asghar Afghan carrying plenty of good will, while Mohammad Shahzad has publicly decried the decision to remove him from the squad after a minor injury.
There have been rumours of interventions in terms of selections from people away from the team and the on-field product has been, well, woeful. Still, we cannot forget just how remarkable a story their rise has been, and with Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman they might just have the bowlers to put England in something of a spin today.
I would imagine that Mujeeb will take the new ball this morning, which means Jonny Bairstow and James Vince will be tested early doors with spin, a tactic that has been somewhat successful against England's openers so far in the tournament.
Vince could do with a score. His List A career returns are impressive but he has yet to truly show the ability to step up to ODI level, with similar issues to that of his faltering test career: bright, brisk and beautiful to 20, 30, or 40, but not producing the innings of substance. There are runs to be had on this Old Trafford pitch.
WEATHER
Can you believe I haven't even mentioned the weather yet?
Pleasingly, it is sunny in Manchester, blue skies all around and few signs of rain. Yay!
Anthem time...
Not the best crowd of the tournament, certainly, but a healthy smattering of people all around Old Trafford, now one of the very best grounds in the country after significant redevelopment since the turn of the century.
The anthems have been sung. It's time for cricket.
Out to the middle stride Jonny Bairstow and James Vince, and it will be new-ball spin specialist Mujeeb Ur Rahman to begin. He doesn't turn the ball a mile and has a tendency to bowl to straight and a touch short, but he's a bag full of tricks and flicks and will test their concentration early on.
Here we go...
1.0 - England 4-0, J Vince 4, J Bairstow 0, Mujeeb 0-4 (1)
A quickly scampered turn to leg brings the first runs of the day, two of them, in fact, while Vince flicks two more wide of the man on the long-on fence. Forward square leg is the other man out.
A bit of turn and bounce already as Mujeeb cycles through his variations. Four runs from the over.
Dawlat Zadran will share the new ball. An actual seam bowler! Just the two wickets in the tournament so far. Bairstow to face his first ball.
2.0 - England 11/0, J Vince 9, J Bairstow 2, D Zadran 0-7 (1)
Crunch! Bairstow nurdles a single to fine leg before Vince pulls a short ball from about belly-button height firmly to the fence. Zadran isn't quick enough to bowl that length on this pitch. Down to one slip already as square leg drops back.
A typically elegant on-drive outfoxes the fielder at mid-on, who just about manages to get a toe to it and keep it to one. Another single for Bairstow, a block from Vince, seven from the over, England are away.
3.0 - England 14/0, J Vince 9, J Bairstow 5, Mujeeb 0-7 (2)
A good start to the over from Mujeeb, five dots as Bairstow looks to settle in.
But a slightly over-pitched ball wide outside off stump allows Bairstow to drive, and a half-stop means England can collect three.
4.0 - England 15/0, J Vince 9, J Bairstow 6, D Zadran 0-8 (2)
Tidy enough from Zadran, but there's nothing really happening for him with the pitch even of bounce and tepid in terms of movement. Mind you, he isn't really searching for swing, content to hit just back of a length.
A solitary single from the fourth over. Better from Zadran.
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