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Eoin Morgan offered a characteristic dose of clarity on the eve of the Champions Trophy, expressing Authentic Bud Norris Youth Jersey his full confidence that Ben Stokes, England’s talismanic all-rounder, will be fit to bowl against Bangladesh on Thursday and assuring the out‑of‑sorts Jason Roy of his spot for the entire tournament.Speaking before the tournament’s much-anticipated opener at The Oval, Morgan tipped his players to “embrace” the challenge of converting two years of limited-overs 
transformation into a trophy this summer. He described the condensed eight-nation competition as the first of two opportunities to do so, with the second being the 2019 World Cup, also to be played on home soil.Key to their chances could be the fitness of Stokes, who will arrive at the ground before the rest of the England squad and undergo an early-morning fitness test on the mystery injury to his left knee that can cause pain in his delivery stride. The 25‑year‑old, who was described by his captain as “like having two players” when fully fit, bowled in the middle on Wednesday and reported no ill effects.“I envisage him being fit to bowl. I don’t see any complications as to why he can’t,” said Morgan, who added he would still be relaxed about his options with the ball even if Stokes can only operate as a specialist batsman, given Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali – his two other injury doubts –have been http://www.authenticlosangelesangels.com/Cameron-Maybin-Jersey given the all-clear.The campaign will be a test of the attacking approach England have adopted under Morgan’s captaincy and the regime set by the head coach, Trevor Bayliss. Its hallmark has been a belief that a settled batting order, unaffected by kneejerk decisions, offers the players freedom to express themselves. It has resulted in 21 totals of more than 300 since the last World Cup – eight more than the next best, South Africa.And thus Roy, the potentially explosive Surrey opener, will line up on his home ground safe in the knowledge that any failure, following five underwhelming international innings this summer, will not result in a change of plan. Previous England setups may have been swayed by the ebullient form of Jonny Bairstow, but the gimlet-eyed Morgan is in no mood to twist.Morgan said: “Roy will definitely play. The decision will remain the same throughout the tournament. Jason Roy is part of our strong opening partnership Dwight Gooden Jersey with Alex Hales. I cannot see it changing.“One of the strongest parts of reinforcing the freedom in which we play is backing that up with selection. If we want our players to play cagey, yes, we would change things and probably half of us wouldn’t be here. Jason really epitomises the way that we play; the aggression in which he plays, he always plays for the team, and he plays in a manner that is dictated by that. He’s a very important Morgan described the Champions Trophy as the next phase in his team’s evolution, with the first year since their disastrous 2015 World Cup simply being about “pushing the limits” of what was possible, before moving into a period when adapting to various match situations became an additional priority. Now, said Morgan, they must combine all they have learned and “deliver in every game” if they are to lift the trophy back at The Oval on 18 June.Thursday’s opponents, Bangladesh, were the side responsible for England’s lowest ebb in Adelaide http://www.authenticnewyorkmets.com/Dwight-Gooden-Jersey two years ago when they dumped them out of the group stage of the World Cup but Morgan claimed the 2016 World Twenty20 final – in which Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes off Stokes saw West Indies claim the title – as the chief motivator for his players. “It was obviously a gentle reminder that you never win a game until the last ball is bowled,” he said.“Since [losing to Bangladesh in the World Cup], we’ve been on a huge upward curve and we’ve been tremendously lucky in the fact that we have had a group of players that have bought into a way of playing and enjoyed it, and executed extremely well.”If England are feeling the weight of expectation – Monday’s record-breaking collapse against South Africa notwithstanding – then so too are Bangladesh, with their captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, joking that their supporters back home demand they must return with the trophy, despite this being their first appearance in the tournament since 2004 and having been bowled out for 84 by India in their warmup match at The Oval on Tuesday.Nevertheless, sitting just one place behind England in the ICC rankings in sixth place, boasting experience in their captain, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and with Morgan’s men yet to face the left-arm trickery of the seamer Mustafizur Rahman, they must not be taken lightly.After a buildup of unusual intensity the Champions Trophy is upon us, with England’s team of white-ball buccaneers kicking off things against Bangladesh at The Oval on Thursday morning. The early signs are of course good. Players, coaches and surrounding hierarchy have had a distinct unity of purpose about them for the past two years, perhaps for the first time before a global 50‑over tournament.We have been down this road before. There have been others since but the last ICC event of similar urgency on English soil was the 1999 World Cup, billed at the time as a way of re-selling the game to a public jaded by years of failure. In the event that summer was a very special kind of disaster.The hosts went out at the earliest opportunity and spent three weeks, in Wisden’s words, “handing around the cucumber sandwiches at their own tea party”. The opening ceremony featured the magic combination of drizzle, piffling fireworks and a troupe of freezing schoolgirls. Anneka Rice was wheeled out to garland the last, slightly desperate sponsor launch and announced she thought cricket was “as boring as fishing”. Thanks, Anneka, for those words.
transformation into a trophy this summer. He described the condensed eight-nation competition as the first of two opportunities to do so, with the second being the 2019 World Cup, also to be played on home soil.Key to their chances could be the fitness of Stokes, who will arrive at the ground before the rest of the England squad and undergo an early-morning fitness test on the mystery injury to his left knee that can cause pain in his delivery stride. The 25‑year‑old, who was described by his captain as “like having two players” when fully fit, bowled in the middle on Wednesday and reported no ill effects.“I envisage him being fit to bowl. I don’t see any complications as to why he can’t,” said Morgan, who added he would still be relaxed about his options with the ball even if Stokes can only operate as a specialist batsman, given Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali – his two other injury doubts –have been http://www.authenticlosangelesangels.com/Cameron-Maybin-Jersey given the all-clear.The campaign will be a test of the attacking approach England have adopted under Morgan’s captaincy and the regime set by the head coach, Trevor Bayliss. Its hallmark has been a belief that a settled batting order, unaffected by kneejerk decisions, offers the players freedom to express themselves. It has resulted in 21 totals of more than 300 since the last World Cup – eight more than the next best, South Africa.And thus Roy, the potentially explosive Surrey opener, will line up on his home ground safe in the knowledge that any failure, following five underwhelming international innings this summer, will not result in a change of plan. Previous England setups may have been swayed by the ebullient form of Jonny Bairstow, but the gimlet-eyed Morgan is in no mood to twist.Morgan said: “Roy will definitely play. The decision will remain the same throughout the tournament. Jason Roy is part of our strong opening partnership Dwight Gooden Jersey with Alex Hales. I cannot see it changing.“One of the strongest parts of reinforcing the freedom in which we play is backing that up with selection. If we want our players to play cagey, yes, we would change things and probably half of us wouldn’t be here. Jason really epitomises the way that we play; the aggression in which he plays, he always plays for the team, and he plays in a manner that is dictated by that. He’s a very important Morgan described the Champions Trophy as the next phase in his team’s evolution, with the first year since their disastrous 2015 World Cup simply being about “pushing the limits” of what was possible, before moving into a period when adapting to various match situations became an additional priority. Now, said Morgan, they must combine all they have learned and “deliver in every game” if they are to lift the trophy back at The Oval on 18 June.Thursday’s opponents, Bangladesh, were the side responsible for England’s lowest ebb in Adelaide http://www.authenticnewyorkmets.com/Dwight-Gooden-Jersey two years ago when they dumped them out of the group stage of the World Cup but Morgan claimed the 2016 World Twenty20 final – in which Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes off Stokes saw West Indies claim the title – as the chief motivator for his players. “It was obviously a gentle reminder that you never win a game until the last ball is bowled,” he said.“Since [losing to Bangladesh in the World Cup], we’ve been on a huge upward curve and we’ve been tremendously lucky in the fact that we have had a group of players that have bought into a way of playing and enjoyed it, and executed extremely well.”If England are feeling the weight of expectation – Monday’s record-breaking collapse against South Africa notwithstanding – then so too are Bangladesh, with their captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, joking that their supporters back home demand they must return with the trophy, despite this being their first appearance in the tournament since 2004 and having been bowled out for 84 by India in their warmup match at The Oval on Tuesday.Nevertheless, sitting just one place behind England in the ICC rankings in sixth place, boasting experience in their captain, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and with Morgan’s men yet to face the left-arm trickery of the seamer Mustafizur Rahman, they must not be taken lightly.After a buildup of unusual intensity the Champions Trophy is upon us, with England’s team of white-ball buccaneers kicking off things against Bangladesh at The Oval on Thursday morning. The early signs are of course good. Players, coaches and surrounding hierarchy have had a distinct unity of purpose about them for the past two years, perhaps for the first time before a global 50‑over tournament.We have been down this road before. There have been others since but the last ICC event of similar urgency on English soil was the 1999 World Cup, billed at the time as a way of re-selling the game to a public jaded by years of failure. In the event that summer was a very special kind of disaster.The hosts went out at the earliest opportunity and spent three weeks, in Wisden’s words, “handing around the cucumber sandwiches at their own tea party”. The opening ceremony featured the magic combination of drizzle, piffling fireworks and a troupe of freezing schoolgirls. Anneka Rice was wheeled out to garland the last, slightly desperate sponsor launch and announced she thought cricket was “as boring as fishing”. Thanks, Anneka, for those words.
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