England opt to bat against Afghanistan

Manchester, June 18 (IANS) England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat against Afghanistan in their fifth World Cup fixture at the Old Trafford on Tuesday.

England have made two changes in their playing XI as James Vince and Moeen Ali replaced the injured Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett.

Afghanistan have made three changes to their line-up. They have included Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in place of Aftab Alam, Hazratullah Zazai and Hamid Hassan.

After winning the toss, Morgan said, "We will bat first. Unfortunately, Jason Roy misses out, it's a used wicket, they have done magnificently well to prepare the pitch, looks like a good wicket, played well the other day, carry for the seamers and turn for the spinners. Two changes, one forced, Vince replaces Roy and Moeen is back, in for Liam Plunkett."

Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib said: "We would have batted first as well, looks a good wicket, slightly Asian conditions. We are disappointed with our batting, have not even played 40 overs, we have a good chance to restrict them to a good defendable score. Three changes for us, Dawlat, Najibullah and Mujeeb are playing -- Aftab, Zazai and Hamid are not playing."

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

Afghanistan: Rahmat Shah, Noor Ali Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil(w), Gulbadin Naib(c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran