Ahead of their dead rubber against Afghanistan, England have suffered a huge blow as two of their key players Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have been ruled out due to injuries. England are scheduled to play Afghanistan in Sydney on March 13th.
During the match against Bangladesh, which England lost by 15 runs and also got crashed out of the World Cup, Ali suffered a side problem while he was bowling, although he was able to continue on and then take his place at the top of the batting order. Woakes, who left the Adelaide Oval with a protective boot on his left boot, felt pain in it while batting. Both underwent scans on March 11th and the results showed that they would not be able to get fit in time for the Afghanistan clash.
With the injury to both Ali and Woakes, it looks like that Alex Hales might open the batting with Ian Bell and offie James Tredwell and all-rounder Ravi Bopara might also get a look in for this match.
Probable Playing XI of England for Afghanistan clash:
Alex Hales, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, James Tredwell
BREAKING: Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali ruled out of England’s Pool A game with Afghanistan on Friday. #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) March 11, 2015
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