England to wait 48 hours on fitness concerns ahead of second ODI

Eoin Morgan split the webbing in his hand and Sam Billings suffered a sprained collar bone joint while fielding during the tourists’ 66-run defeat on Tuesday

England will wait 48 hours before deciding on the fitness of Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings ahead of the second ODI against India in Pune.

Morgan split the webbing in his hand and Billings suffered a sprained collar bone joint while fielding during the tourists’ 66-run defeat on Tuesday.

Both men were passed fit to bat as England collapsed after an opening partnership of 135 in just 14.2 overs, losing all 10 wickets for just 116 runs.

“We’re going to wait a while and give as much time as is needed to hopefully be available for Friday,” Morgan said afterwards.

He added, however, that England would use the series to give match action to squad players on the sidelines: Liam Livingstone replaced Billings as substitute fielder after his injury and promptly took a catch, while Reece Topley and Matt Parkinson are also waiting in the wings.

“We’re going to try to give the majority of the players in the squad an opportunity to play,” Morgan explained. “Fifty-over cricket for us has been the vehicle to grow our squad to try to improve beyond our best eleven players on the field. There will be opportunities for guys coming in.”

^{Sam Billings sprained his collar bone joint but was able to bat later in the game}

On the nature of England’s defeat, achieved somewhat from the jaws of victory after the brutal boundary-hitting of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy initially appeared to have had their hosts on the canvas, Morgan admitted that the onus was on the middle order to rediscover their touch.

England fell away similarly during the T20I series, with Morgan one of several players in the middle overs struggling for runs. Jos Buttler fell for two, while Ben Stokes made one, Billings struck 18 and Moeen Ali hit 30 in his first game since the second Test in Chennai.

“I don’t think we could have asked for better conditions if we were looking to get runs,” said Morgan. “Yes, maybe it was tough starting on it. But once you get yourself in and get past that stage, you couldn’t ask for a better ground to go and bat and find some form and get some runs under your belt.”

And so, he was at pains to remove any culpability from England’s bowlers, who restricted India to 317 from their 50 overs on a terrific surface with short boundaries. “To hold India at bay for that long, I think, was a fantastic job from our bowlers,” he stressed.

Krunal's fireworks, a busy day for physios and England's batting collapse... ODI TALKING POINTS

At one stage, it looked as though that total might be far lower, only for an unbroken 112-run stand between Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul in just 57 balls, which hauled Kohli’s side into a more imposing position. Stokes claimed three wickets, while Mark Wood took two, though he was at the centre of Pandya’s late cameo.

“I can’t fault the (bowlers) today,” Morgan added. “I thought they were brilliant. They did exactly what was expected on a wicket like today. Chasing 318, at the halfway stage and even before the game, I’d have taken 318.”

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