Eoin Morgan backs Jason Roy after another batting failure

England’s batting mainstay Joe Root’s elegant century in Thursday’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh will reinforce the belief that sound technique is a pre-requisite for success across all formats. The final combination they tried in Ireland saw them using allrounder Nasir Hossain at No. 8, but it was hard to understand why they would do so in the first match of a global event they had reached by playing five bowlers regularly.

Chasing a respectable target of 306 runs, Root hammered 11 boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 133-run knock despite rolling his ankle early in his innings against Bangladesh.

Other possible replacements for Woakes include uncapped Surrey seamer Tom Curran, while England could yet recall Test linchpin Stuart Broad, even though only two of his 121 ODI caps have been won since the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Put in to bat, both openers Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar (28) started the innings on a steady note as they forged a 56-run partnership before Sarkar was sent back to the pavilion by Ben Stokes in the 12th over.

Fast bowler Plunkett took four wickets for 59 runs from his maximum 10 overs.

While the details of Woakes’ injury are not yet known, a typical recovery for a side strain can take between four and six weeks.

With around seven an over needed from the final 10 overs, England kicked on with Morgan (75 not out from 61 balls) twice clearing the ropes and Root, hobbling slightly after rolling his ankle, going through to three figures.

Bangladesh’s centurion of the day, Tamim Iqbal too echoed the same sentiment.

Stokes was initially cleared to be a member of England’s attack after struggling to bowl in recent matches.

Sabbir and captain Mashrafe Mortaza claimed one wicket each. 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.

Mustafizur Rahman: The young pacer is one of the best bowlers in the world cricket.

“I think it will [Teams will prefer chasing]”.

But Morgan said of Bairstow: “He will miss out unfortunately”. Joe Root and an in-form Alex Hales are huge factors. “It’s not slow, it’s actually at pace”, Morgan said.

“The decision remains the same throughout the tournament”, Morgan told reporters at the Oval on Wednesday.

“They made us play a hell of a lot and managed to get the ball moving around. I thought he did a great job”.

The only negative for England was an injury to all-rounder Chris Woakes.