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‘Important part of team’: England skipper Eoin Morgan lauds Joe Root

Root was pushed up the order to open after Jason Roy sustained a hamstring injury, and the former remained unbeaten to help England chase down 213 runs with more than 16 overs to spare.

‘Important part of team’: England skipper Eoin Morgan lauds Joe Root

Eoin Morgan of England walks back to the pavilion after getting dismissed during the first Semi-final match of ICC Champions Trophy between England and Pakistan at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales, Britain onJune 14, 2017. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

England skipper Eoin Morgan has showered praise on Joe Root, saying the star batsman is an important part of the team.

Root scored a magnificent 100 not out as England outplayed West Indies by eight wickets at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Friday.

Root was pushed up the order to open after Jason Roy sustained a hamstring injury, and the former remained unbeaten to help England chase down 213 runs with more than 16 overs to spare. With this win, England are at the second spot in the points table with 6 points in 4 matches, below New Zealand who have 7 points from four matches.

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Root’s classy innings was laced with 11 boundaries which helped England register their third win of the ongoing tournament, thus fuelling hopes of winning the World Cup for the first time.

It was Root’s second ton in the ongoing mega event and with this, the 28-year-old became only the second England batsman to do so in a single World Cup after Kevin Pietersen, who smashed two centuries in the 2007 edition. Root notched up his first century against Pakistan on June 3, but his team lost that game.

“Joe had a good day out. He is such an important part of our team. He is the glue that holds the team together and is an awesome player to watch,” Morgan said after the match.

Morgan was forced to leave the field after suffering a back spasm and could be a doubt for England’s next game against Afghanistan on Tuesday.

“It is my back. It is a bit sore at the moment and hopefully, it settles down in the next few days,” said Morgan. “I have had a lot of back spasms in the past. It is a matter of 24-48 hours before it settles down, sometimes it gets healed a lot quicker and sometimes it lingers around.”

With Eoin Morgan unsure of his fitness, Jason Roy’s injury further increased England’s problems. “He had a tight hamstring so he will go for a scan tomorrow and probably it will take 48 hours before we have the results,” the England skipper said on Roy.

Meanwhile, Player of the Match Joe Root seemed pleased after getting his second ton of the tournament. “It is obviously nice to get the ton… You pride yourself on as a batter for converting those starts into hundreds,” he said.

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