LONDON: Injured batsman Eoin Morgan has said he will be back to fitness sooner than expected, boosting his chances of playing some part in England's World Cup campaign. The England and Wales Cricket Board last week replaced Morgan with Ravi Bopara in their 15-man squad when the finger injury suffered by the Irishman during the one-day series in Australia was confirmed as a break. But an upbeat Morgan tweeted that he was confident of making a quicker than expected return to cricket as an operation on the finger had been ruled out. “Some good news this morning,” he said in a tweet. “No need for an op. Pretty much healed. Will be back sooner than expected.” The tournament rules forbid his immediate reinstatement if England decided he could, after all, be fit for the knockout stages later next month. But the selectors are considering putting him back in the squad from which replacements are allowed if a player is injured. Morgan, 24, has been England's most successful one-day batsman since making his debut in 2009 and his absence could hit the three-time World Cup finalists pretty hard. England plays its two warm-up games for the tournament against Canada and Pakistan in Bangladesh before travelling to India for its first World Cup fixture against the Netherlands in Nagpur on Feb. 22. England is placed in Group B alongside India, South Africa, the West Indies, the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Ireland, with the top four making it to the quarterfinals. Lanka opener sold out Sri Lanka's opening World Cup match against cricketing minnows Canada has sold out, Sri Lanka Cricket said Tuesday. Ticket prices for the new 35,000-seater Hambantota stadium in Sri Lanka's deep south start from 150 rupees ($1.35) up to a maximum of 1,000 rupees. “All tickets were sold out for Sri Lanka's maiden encounter against Canada,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. The match will be played on Feb. 20. Hambantota and Pallekele, in the central region of Kandy, will host five World Cup games while the renovated R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host seven. Ticket cheats caught Bangladesh's elite security force has jailed four people for two years each for printing fake tickets for the cricket World Cup, an official said Tuesday. The Rapid Action Battalion raided a printing press in Dhaka late Monday and caught the four printing fake tickets for Thursday's opening ceremony, RAB spokesman Commander Mohammad Sohail said. “All four were handed out two-year jail terms by a magistrate who accompanied us in the raid,” he said. “The printing press and computers attached to it have been sealed and will be auctioned.” Sohail said the culprits had mastered the art of printing fake tickets for special events like concerts and football and cricket matches. “They have a sophisticated machine and software,” he said. “We have also seized a genuine ticket for the opening ceremony from which they copied the fakes.” The fake tickets were priced at 1,000 taka (14 dollars) each, according to Sohail. Bangladesh has been gripped by cricket fever in the run-up to the World Cup which it co-hosts for the first time with India and Sri Lanka. After Thursday's opening ceremony, Bangladesh will host eight matches including two quarterfinals. ICC bans ‘tweeting' An International Cricket Council spokesman says the game's ruling body has banned ‘tweeting' during World Cup games to ensure illegal bookmakers do not use the views of players and team staff on Twitter as betting guides. ICC media manager James Fitzgerald told the Associated Press that “tweeting has been banned during all matches of the World Cup” which is to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb. 19 to April 2. The Netherlands beats Kenya In Colombo, Ryan ten Doeschate hit a brilliant 98 not out to guide the Netherlands to a two-wicket upset win over Kenya in a World Cup warm-up match Tuesday. Ten Doeschate's 92-ball knock, spiced with four sixes and three fours, helped the Netherlands chase a challenging 264-run target after being down and out at 130-7 with part-time spinner Steve Tikolo taking four wickets. Ireland pips Zimbabwe Andre Botha and Kevin O'Brien hit resolute half-centuries to carry Ireland to a final over, four-wicket victory in a World Cup warm-up game against Zimbabwe Tuesday. Botha top-scored with 79 and O'Brien hit an unbeaten 62 as Ireland chased Zimbabwe's competitive 244-8 with three balls to spare in the thrilling match in Nagpur.
