England may be struggling without Jason Roy but coach Trevor Bayliss insists they will not gamble on his fitness for the key World Cup match against Australia.
Roy has been sidelined for England’s last two matches with a torn hamstring and the opener was badly missed in a surprise 20-run defeat by Sri Lanka at Headingley on Friday.
They needed Roy’s usual dynamism at the start of the innings but, with Jonny Bairstow falling for a golden duck, and James Vince — Roy’s replacement — struggling again, England made a sluggish start to their pursuit of a seemingly modest target of 233.
But Bayliss is adamant Roy will remained sidelined unless he is fully fit to avoid aggravating the problem.
“If someone of Jason’s ilk is not playing of course you’re going to miss someone like that. That’s the game,” said Bayliss.
“He’s injured and I’m not exactly sure when he’ll be back, but we are looking forward to him coming back.
“We’re not going to risk him that’s for sure. We’ll play each game as it comes and get the medical people to let us know whether they think he is right for the next game.
“If he’s not, well we’ll do the same heading into the next game.”
That is likely to mean another chance for Vince, who only came into the squad after England axed Alex Hales following the experienced batsman’s second positive test for recreational drug use.
Vince, however, has yet to impress at one-day international level.
He averages just 26.50 in 10 completed innings, with a top score of 51.
Bayliss, asked if he found the stylish Hampshire batsman’s lack of runs “infuriating”, Bayliss replied: “Not as infuriating as it is for him.
“He looks a million dollars then he finds a way to get out. Hopefully he’s one of those guys who can put one together and it tips him over the edge and he gets a string of big scores.
“He’s certainly a good player, but he’ll be looking to play a longer dig.”
England’s loss in Leeds has added to the pressure of their Tuesday’s clash at Lord’s against holders Australia.
England remain in the top four despite their second defeat of the World Cup, but will be wary of any more slip-ups against Australia, India and New Zealand in their three remaining matches of the 10-team round-robin phase.
“The three teams we’ve got coming up are good teams and we know what we’re going to get from those three teams,” Bayliss said.
“We didn’t play as well as we’d like in this last game and maybe we let one slip, but we have been in this situation before and it hasn’t stopped us coming out and playing well in the next game.
“We’ll be looking to bounce back and play a good game. We know what we can expect from those three good teams that we’ve got to come so I think our minds will be on the job.
“You’re not safe until you’ve got enough points and nobody else can get past you.”
