Cricket World Cup 2019: Eoin Morgan wins toss, England opt to bowl against Pakistan, Wood comes in for Plunkett

Eoin Morgan won the toss and England have opted to bowl against Pakistan in Match 6 of the ICC World Cup 2019 on Monday. The hosts, ranked favourties are coming off an emphatic 104-run over a beleaguered South Africa side, while Pakistan, who have had a horrid run up losing to Afghanistan in the warm-ups and then going down badly to West Indies when the mega event kicked off.

Among the notable team changes was the comeback of pacer Mark Wood in place Liam Plunkett. Wood has bowled a mere 13.1 overs since the start of the season amid fears his longstanding left ankle injury could flare up again. But his ability, in common with Archer, to top speeds of 90 mph meant England thought he was worth the risk at the World Cup.

England playing XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Pakistan have made two changes. Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali replace Haris Sohail and Imad Wasim.

Pakitan playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir

Captains have their say at the toss:

Eoin Morgan: “We’re gonna bowl first. Looks a good wicket and the dimensions are smaller than The Oval. So we need to look at all that. We have one change – Wood comes in for Plunkett. Reason for this is the genuine pace that he provides. A bit yes and also he bowled well in the recent series against them. We’re always looking to improve and striving to give a perfect performance. Of course you don’t get near to it all the time but if you try to get there, you’re in a good space.”

Sarfraz Ahmed: “I also wanted to bowl first. Looks a good batting pitch, so we’re hoping to put runs on the board and defend. I think it’s a one-off performance and hoping to get things right today. Yes, we batted well against them in the recent series and hopefully, that will continue.”