Hosts' Trott headache
Jonathan Trott could miss England's must-win Champions Trophy match against New Zealand in Cardiff on Sunday with a quad injury.
Often criticised for slow-scoring, the South Africa-born batsman has nevertheless been a reliable source of runs in the 50-over format, scoring over 2,500 runs at an impressive average of 52.56.
England view the Warwickshire right-hander, who bats at number three, as their one-day anchor man, providing a launch-pad for more dynamic batsmen later in the innings.
It was the role Trott played in top-scoring for England with 76 at The Oval on Thursday in a seemingly challenging total of 293 for seven that Sri Lanka overhauled during a seven-wicket win thanks to an outstanding 134 not out from senior batsman Kumar Sangakkara.
Trott was off the field for much of the Sri Lankan star's innings and he now faces a fitness test to see if he will be available to face New Zealand, a match labelled a "quarter-final" by England captain Alastair Cook and one the hosts will likely need to win if they are to reach the last four.
"Jonathan had a tight right quad and we thought the best thing to do was to get him off before things got significantly worse," said England assistant coach Richard Halsall.
"We have to have a look at him tomorrow [Saturday] at training and we don't know yet if he'll be fit."
Meanwhile Halsall insisted Trott's critics were ill-informed.
"Trott's in the top 10 one-day batsmen in the world and he builds a magnificent platform for us," he said.
"It's always reassuring to have him there. People who continue to talk about him haven't really looked at the black and white facts."
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