sport news England captain Eoin Morgan suffers fracture to his left index finger

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England suffered a worrying injury scare to the man who has done so much to turn them from World Cup embarrassments four years ago into firm favourites for this year's tournament, when Eoin Morgan fractured a finger during practice.

The England captain winced and was clearly in pain when he was struck on the index finger of his left hand while taking fierce catches propelled by a bowling machine ahead of Saturday's World Cup warm-up at Southampton against old enemy Australia.

Morgan immediately left the field and soaked his finger in ice to try to reduce the swelling before he left for what was described as a precautionary x-ray at a local hospital. 

England later confirmed Morgan had sustained a 'small flake' fracture in the finger and is out of today's game but they insist he will be fully fit for the showcase opening World Cup match against South Africa at the Oval next Thursday. The injury is stable so does not require a cast and is treated the same way as a sprain.

Jos Buttler will take over the captaincy in Morgan's absence while James Vince, brought into the squad for the disgraced Alex Hales, should get the chance to play for England on his home Hampshire ground in their penultimate warm-up before the big day.

It can only be hoped England's optimism proves well-founded because the absence of Morgan for any part of the tournament would be a huge setback, as much for his inspirational captaincy as batting that has seen him in sublime form in the cup build-up.

England can only replace an injured player from their final 15 for the whole tournament so their squad would be depleted should Morgan take longer to recover from a small section – or flake – of bone being pulled off his finger where ligaments attach to the bone.

Their preparations for a tournament they have invested so much in have been meticulous and they looked ready and raring to go when they outclassed

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