Dale Steyn ruled out of Cricket World Cup 2019 opener against England

The ICC Cricket World Cup is set to begin on May 30 as the host-England will take on South Africa at the Oval in London. The two teams are working towards getting all boxes ticked. In this process, South Africa speedster Dale Steyn was ruled out of the all-important game. That was the news from head coach Ottis Gibson in London on Tuesday. The 35-year-old Steyn is still not at 100% as he continues to recover from the shoulder injury that saw him return home from the IPL earlier this month. 

"He's not quite ready yet. He's not far away ... but not quite yet. We think with a six-week tournament, there is no real need to force the issue. We know that he is close and he's getting closer every day. We'll give him as much time as we can to get him ready," Gibson said. 

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Morris is the most like-for-like replacement from a bowling perspective, while his inclusion would also significantly increase South Africa's lower order firepower with the bat. The Oval wicket on Tuesday looked greener than expected, effectively ruling out the possibility of South Africa fielding two spinners.

Steyn has not bowled competitively since pulling out of Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL campaign in late April, having played only two games there. In the two games, he took four wickets but more importantly, he struck during the powerplay against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. In both games, Royal Challengers Bangalore won but they finished their IPL campaign on a low by finishing in last position.

South Africa won their first warm-up game against Sri Lanka by 87 runs but their warm-up against West Indies was declared a no-result due to rain. However, in both games, Hashim Amla struck form by hammering a fifty. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• South Africa will take on England in the tournament opener on May 30.
• Dale Steyn suffered a shoulder injury during the IPL.
• Chris Morris will likely play for South Africa in their opener against England.