England ODI captain looks back on his time in the Test team, and the comparisons between the two sides today (1:53)
Eoin Morgan, England’s one-day captain, believes he “wasn’t good enough” in Test cricket and that he would not have been an asset to Joe Root’s Test team, in spite of the new bold new style that they have been showcasing on their tour of Sri Lanka.
Root has just led England to their first overseas whitewash since 1963 with a side playing fluid, brave, attacking cricket. It looks the perfect environment for someone like Morgan to follow in the footsteps of Jos Buttler, who has excelled since returning to the Test fold earlier this year.
Morgan, however, sees it differently.
“I had my chance to play Test cricket. I played in a very good team, in a very good environment, under an exceptional captain in Andrew Strauss,” Morgan told ESPNcricinfo, having averaged 30.43 in 16 Tests between 2010 and 2012.
“I think a lot of people that come and go in Test match cricket and don’t make the most of their opportunity sometimes look back and wish that they could have been part of a better team or a more expansive or disciplined team.
“There’s always a different aspect because it’s a failure in a way. I think people find it hard to say they just weren’t good enough and I don’t think I was.”
The 3-0 series win in Sri Lanka suggests that Root’s men have found a means to tap into the positive mindset that has been so successful in 50-over cricket, a format of the game in which England have been revolutionary over the past few years.
But Morgan is certainly not the man to take credit for another’s work and he believes England’s victory in Sri Lanka showed that the Test side are beginning to be moulded in Root’s own image.
“I’m not sure [if England’s Test approach has been influenced by Morgan’s ODI team]. Joe can only answer that or guys that play in the team,” said Morgan, who is currently in the UAE playing in the T10 League.
“One thing I see particularly on this tour, where the guys won 3-0 and it was unbelievable to watch, was that they’re playing with clarity and the way that they want to.
“That for me signifies that they’re playing in Joe Root’s way and with everybody in the team’s way. To watch that as a fan is great to see.”
While Morgan clearly sees his five-day career as over, he knows that England are about to head into on one of their most important years of all time, as they prepare to head into a home World Cup as the No.1 team in ODI cricket, and favourites to win the trophy for the first time in their history.
The team’s situation is light years removed from their disastrous performance at the 2015 World Cup, in which Morgan – just two months into his stint as ODI captain following the sacking of Alastair Cook – was unable to galvanise a side that was caught cold playing a brand of cricket woefully behind the times.
Now, however, with his partnership with coach Trevor Bayliss bearing rich dividends, Morgan is ready for the final push towards their make-or-break summer.
“Some of [England’s cricket since 2015] has been mind-blowing and it’s full credit to the team,” he said. “We’ve always been a tight unit and the things we’ve tried to do since our summer of 2015; we’ve been true to our principles, we’ve always tried to push our boundaries, we’ve never let the opposition try and dictate what we’re trying to do.
“We aspire to be the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be and guys have stayed really true to that and it has worked, particularly with our batting.
“I think in the last year and a half our bowling has progressed really nicely and we’re almost probably further ahead than anybody thought we would be, even myself, before the 2019 World Cup but it just means we’ve got more to build on hopefully for next year.”
It has been a remarkable turnaround and Morgan firmly believes England have benefited from the environment Bayliss has fostered under his stewardship since taking over in May 2015.
Bayliss will leave his post at the end of next summer and, to judge by Morgan’s appraisal of his methods, he will be a tough man to replace.
“He has a very natural way of coaching and managing players,” said Morgan.
“He also has one of his strongest skills which is being able to take pressure away from players when they need it most and that’s not always the case with coaches around the world. It’s a very fine skill to have and he certainly has it.”
Both player and coach will be hoping the relationship ends next year with a World Cup trophy perched in the Lord’s museum and the pressure is on to deliver.
England also went into the ICC Champions Trophy with home advantage in 2017 but were blown away by eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-final.
Morgan appreciates that his side will have to deal with an expectant nation but hopes his charges can deal with the favourites tag that is not going to leave them any time soon.
“I think a lot of people seem to think we do [have what it takes to win the 2019 World Cup]. Going into the Champions Trophy as favourites was a different aspect of our game that we needed to work with,” he said.
“That tournament, we weren’t good enough. We ran into a very strong Pakistan team. And next year, at the moment, we are favourites so presuming nothing goes horrifically wrong between now and the start of the World Cup, that’ll probably be the same.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo