Morgan says England are over West Indies woe ahead of T20 World Cup opener
England were on the brink of victory only for Brathwaite to hit four sixes in a row
LONDON (AFP) - Eoin Morgan is confident England are a better team for their agonising defeat by the West Indies in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup final as they prepare to face the Caribbean side in their opening match of this year s tournament.
England were on the brink of victory only for Carlos Brathwaite to hit four sixes in a row off Ben Stokes in the last over of the final in Kolkata to give West Indies the title.
Both all-rounders will be missing, however, from Saturday s match in Dubai.
England white-ball captain Morgan, asked if his team still carried any scars from that loss in India, said on Friday: "No. I think some of the biggest disappointments in anyone s career are more learnings than scars."
Morgan, looking to lead England to global T20 glory two years after captaining the side to the 50-over World Cup title, added: "I think if they were scars we would have lost a lot of players who wouldn t have progressed like they have done over the last four or five years."
The former Ireland batsman knows the West Indies well, with both teams containing several experienced T20 performers.
"West Indies are a strong team with a lot of experience," said Morgan. "They have a lot of guys who have been around a long time.
"We ve played them a lot over the last three years both as individuals in various tournaments around the world and in an England shirt as well.
"It has been a long time since we ve played them in a T20 World Cup and we look forward to it."
A powerful West Indies batting line-up could pose problems for England, should Morgan s men find themselves fielding when dew is present later in the game.
"I m stating the obvious when I say it s an advantage to chase if there is dew around," he said.
"It is tougher for bowlers -- the ball does tend to skid on a little bit more.
"But every team is in the same boat, every team is going to come up against this challenge throughout the World Cup. It s been a factor throughout the IPL (Indian Premier League) recently.
"It hasn t been around every night, so it s harder to predict when it will fall or not."
