We're in as strong a position as we could be at this stage: Morgan
For England, this summers Mens Cricket World Cup could hardly be more important.
LONDON (Web Desk) - For England, this summer’s Men’s Cricket World Cup could hardly be more important. In front of an expectant home crowd, they will have the chance to right over 40 years of white-ball woes, in which countless close calls and numerous near misses have seen them fail to secure a global ODI trophy. Moreover, this might be their best chance in all that time, with England favourites in most pundits’ eyes.
Their captain Eoin Morgan has been pivotal in overseeing the change in approach which has reaped such great rewards. Still, even with the greatest accolade yet to be secured, he says the feeling in the camp is more one of “excitement” than nervousness.
“I think we’re in as strong a position as we could be at this stage,” he told City A.M. “I think we’d be nervous if we were chasing a style of play or identity as a team, or looking for things that weren’t there. But the fact that we’ve been on this journey now for four years, and played some good cricket along the way, particularly at home, gives us more of an element of excitement.”
There have been many markers which show how England have developed since the last World Cup, including twice breaking their national record for the highest individual ODI score and twice smashing the world record for the highest team score. Perhaps the most significant was their ascension to being the No.1 side in the MRF Tyres ODI Team Rankings, but while it demonstrates how far they’ve come, Morgan insists it hasn’t affected how England play.
“Over the last two years, being close to world No.1 and then being No.1 hasn’t changed us a lot,” he said. “Getting there is a huge acknowledgement of the work we’ve been doing and going in the right direction, but how we got there remains the goal and the desire to continuously improve remains one of the aspects of our team. Continuing in that vein does create a lot of expectation, but the expectation is there for a reason, because we have played well.”
England announced their preliminary 15-man World Cup squad recently, but Morgan is wary of how things can change. His side have already been forced to make one alteration, with Alex Hales removed due to a reported off-field matter, and with England set to play six ODIs and a T20I before the World Cup gets underway, Morgan says their intention is to test their bench strength.
“We will obviously be looking at the same players who have played over the last four years, but it’ll be a matter of looking at guys who are in form and contributing to wins,” Morgan said.
“There will be opportunities for everybody to play because we haven’t had serious injuries since Olly Stone back in the summer last year, so the law of averages suggests we’re probably due an injury. We need more than that 15 initially; we need guys who are ready to come in and play.”
Morgan also praised England’s “constant competition” for places, but pointed out that his team’s high-risk style of play is only enabled by keeping faith in the first-choice players. “We’ve had constant competition for places – we’ve had guys who have been left out at different times and probably would have played in any other team in the world, or been given an opportunity at some stage,” Morgan said.
“We had one with Jonny Bairstow, where he was left out for quite some time and was always the next batsman in, which is unfortunate for him. But the level of trust that we put in the guys we have selected in the final XI needs to remain in order to continue playing the way that we play.”
One player who will come into the frame is Jofra Archer. The outrageously talented all-rounder has made waves in T20 leagues around the world with his feats in all three disciplines, and having just qualified for England selection, has recently been named in an international squad for the first time, for England’s encounters with Ireland and Pakistan.
However, he wasn’t named in England’s preliminary World Cup squad, with the selectors opting to defer naming a final 15 until after the Pakistan series. Morgan said that England’s team “culture” would be taken into account, as well as Archer’s undoubted abilities.
“When you select a player in a squad or a team it’s not purely on performance,” Morgan said. “Their accountability and what they offer in the changing room and around the team is added in as well because World Cups and trophies are won by teams, not individuals and it’s important that you continue to give to a team and a culture as opposed to taking away.”
Archer could make his debut on Friday, 3 May, when England take on Ireland at Malahide in an ODI.
