Eoin Morgan says England have no injury worries and that he knows his first XI for tomorrow’s World Cup opener against South Africa at the Oval.
Morgan is over his own broken finger, while Mark Wood (foot) and Adil Rashid (shoulder) are available too. Wood, Liam Plunkett or Tom Curran will fill the final spot in the side, which will not be revealed until the toss at 10am tomorrow.
“We have no injury concerns, a clean bill of health and excited for tomorrow,” he said. “We have a lot of belief, and are very confident in our own game. We can’t wait for tomorrow.
"The level of expectation and the favourites’ tag is there for a reason. Our form over the last two years at home in particular has been superb, and that’s the reason it’s there.”
Morgan said his team were looking for “a win under any circumstances” rather than a statement performance.
Morgan’s South African counterpart Faf du Plessis says his team must counter England’s aggressive style of play with attacking cricket of their own when the two teams meet in the World Cup opener at the Oval tomorrow.
South Africa will be without Dale Steyn, the veteran fast bowler, which Du Plessis said meant they “moved on to Plan B and C”. The Proteas still boast a fearsome bowling attack and a classy batting unit.
“We are very excited,” said du Plessis. “England are a tremendous team, they’ve shown that for the last 24 months by playing really good cricket.
England is team that plays very aggressively, we all know that. It’s about how us finding how we can be most attacking and take wickets. There is no point in trying to play a defensive style of cricket against England, they can take any bowling attack on on its day. We will pick our team to be as positive as possible.”
