Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, will take charge of Middlesex’s T20 Blast campaign next season, after stepping up to the role vacated by Dawid Malan’s move to Yorkshire.
Morgan, who led England to World Cup glory in last summer’s final against New Zealand at Lord’s, will take the reins of a side that showed signs of improvement in 2019, in reaching the quarter-finals for only the second time since their victorious campaign in 2008.
Morgan’s own role in that renaissance was crucial. Returning to county cricket after his glory with England, he played with freedom and intent in racking up 341 runs in the campaign, at an average of just under 43 and with a strike rate of nearly 170.
He contributed three half-centuries in nine matches – 70 off 37 balls against Surrey at Lord’s, an unbeaten 83 off 29 balls against Somerset, and 53 off 31 balls in the quarter-final defeat to Nottinghamshire.
Stuart Law, Middlesex’s head coach, welcomed Morgan’s commitment to the role in what will also be his testimonial year, and looked forward to his tactical acumen proving as valuable to the team as his form with the bat.
“I’m really excited to have Morgs at the helm for our T20 campaign,” said Law. “”He is currently the best white-ball captain around and will offer a great deal of experience on and off the field to the team in this format.
“I can’t wait to start working with him to build a squad of players to challenge in this format.”
Morgan’s commitment to the Blast comes in spite of his oft-repeated criticism of the competition, which he has long believed hampers England’s development as a T20 power, and he is one of the leading advocates of the ECB’s new tournament, the Hundred, for which he will lead the Lord’s-based team, London Spirit, in the inaugural season next summer.
However, with back-to-back T20 World Cups looming for England in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Morgan is also eager to take the opportunity to hone his 20-over tactics ahead of the first of those campaigns, in Australia at the end of the year.
“I’m delighted to be awarded the T20 Captaincy,” Morgan said. “The role is one that I have really enjoyed.
“We’ve got an exciting group of players here at Middlesex, with plenty of talent and a good blend of youth and experience, and I’m really looking forward to helping the club build on the improvements we made in this format last year.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo