Chris Morris replaces Anrich Nortje in South Africa WC squad

JOHANNESBURG: Anrich Nortje, the South Africa fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup 2019 with a hand injury.

Nortje, who fractured his right thumb while practising in the nets, will need six to eight weeks to make a full recovery. This would have been Nortje's first World Cup.

"Anrich sustained a fracture to his right thumb during a net session in Port Elizabeth on Monday," Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said. "He immediately consulted a hand surgeon and underwent surgery to stabilise the joint and will unfortunately be side-lined for up to eight weeks. This makes him unavailable for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup."

"It is an unfortunate and freakish injury, especially because he had made a successful recovery from the shoulder injury he sustained during the series against Sri Lanka. He has had a few injury setbacks in the last year but knowing Anrich’s character, he will be motivated to come back stronger. We wish him a speedy recovery."

All-rounder Chris Morris has been named in the squad in Nortje's place. Morris last played a one-day international in February 2018 and is currently a part of the Delhi Capitals side in the Indian Premier League.

"Chris has always been in our plans and is our next best option with the ball,” explained Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel convener, Linda Zondi. "He has the pace and death-bowling skills which will be vital in the UK, and also gives us that depth as a deadly finisher with the bat. We have had concerns around his injuries and workload capabilities but this is an opportunity for him to make a mark on the biggest stage.

"It is unfortunate what has happened to Anrich, he is a talented player with exciting potential. We wish him well on his road to recovery and have no doubt that he will bounce back to fulfil his potential," he concluded.

Bruised Pakistan seek early acclimatisation

Pakistan suffered a 5-0 defeat against Australia, but their past success against England, including in the 2017 Champions Trophy, should put them in good stead to put that behind and tune up for the World Cup.

The 5-0 rout they suffered at the hands of a rejuvenated Australian side will be heavily weighing on their minds as Pakistan look to handle early season conditions. Making that job harder is the fact that they are up against the No.1-ranked ODI team in the world, at their home. They can, however, take solace from the fact that two years ago, they had eased past England in similar circumstances in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy. On a related note, the series will offer the last chance for the one of the heroes of that event, Mohammad Amir, to sneak into the World Cup squad.

England, on the other hand, are coming off victories over Ireland in a solitary ODI in Dublin, and then against Pakistan in the one-off T20I last week. That, along with their usual level of comfort in these conditions, will leave them high on confidence. Can they now use that to their advantage in the ODIs and tune up for the World Cup, which will be played in the same format?

Squads

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali

Chris Gayle named West Indies vice-captain for World Cup

West Indies opener Chris Gayle has been named his side's vice-captain for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, Cricket West Indies announced on Monday, 6 May.

The 39-year-old has represented West Indies in 103 Tests, 289 one-day internationals and 58 Twenty20 Internationals, scoring 18,992 international runs. Gayle also has prior leadership experience, having captained his side in 90 matches across formats between 2007 and 2010.

Gayle, who is set to play his last 50-over tournament, will be backing up Jason Holder, and as a senior player, felt that it was his "responsibility to support the captain and everyone else in the team".

"It is always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format, and this World Cup for me is special," he said. "As a senior player, it is my responsibility to support the captain and everyone else in the team. This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations, and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies."

Gayle was a part of the 2019 Indian Premier League, in which he played for Kings XI Punjab, who failed to qualify for the knockouts, after finishing sixth on the table. Gayle himself had a terrific run, however, scoring 490 runs in 13 matches, at a brilliant strike rate of 153.60. However, owing to his participation in the league, he missed the ongoing tri-series in Ireland, where West Indies are competing with the hosts and Bangladesh.

In his absence, Cricket West Indies named wicket-keeper batsman Shai Hope as Holder's deputy for the series, ahead of the side's second ODI, against Bangladesh. Hope was instrumental in West Indies' 196-run win in the opening game, against Ireland, where he made a brilliant 152-ball 170, which featured 22 fours and two sixes. He was also involved in a 365-run opening stand with John Campbell – the highest in the format for the first wicket.

"It's a tremendous honour to be appointed vice-captain for this series here in Ireland," Hope said. "Ahead of this tournament, I was asked to take on this role and I was happy to accept. Anything I'm asked to do for West Indies cricket, I'm always happy and willing to put my hand up, so this is great."

West Indies will face Bangladesh in the second ODI of the tri-series in Dublin on 7 May. They will open their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 31 May in Nottingham.