Eoin Morgan could yet make a surprise return to England's World Cup campaign after revealing his finger injury isn't as bad as initially thought. The injury sustained in Australia during the 6-1 one-day series loss forced Morgan to miss out on England's 15-man World Cup squad, with Ravi Bopara making a return to the set-up as his replacement.
The news that Morgan's fractured finger doesn't require surgery could mean the Irish-born batmen returning around the latter stages in the tournament, should England hang around for that long. The knock-out phase of the tournament will start around March 23rd and the batman would be fit and ready then. The rules mean any return to the squad for Morgan would now require an injury to a member of the squad that starts the tournament.
The loss of Morgan from the initial squad will have an effect on the England squad after he established himself as one of the team's most instrumental players. Morgan has quickly gained a reputation as one-day cricket's most exciting an inventive batsmen and the pressure will be on Bopara to prove he is a worthy replacement. Indeed, the Cricket World Cup betting suggests he will have to find his form if the side are going to go all the way in the tournament.
Bopara will bring his bowling ability to the team but it's been a while since he managed to produce consistently on the international stage. A good season with Essex has earned Bopara his recall and he has proven in the past that he has everything needed to succeed at this level.
Bopara also brings his experience of playing on the slow sub-continent pitches after playing in the Indian Premier League and that could prove to be an essential asset to England's cause.
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