Morgan says that players like Mark Wood are valuable for them.
English skipper Eoin Morgan showered praises for his "outstanding" bowling attack after the tournament hosts sealed their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy with an 87-run victory over New Zealand in Cardiff.
Despite being unable of scoring a par score, as England was bowled out for 310 with the help of Joe Root (64), Alex Hales (56) and Ben Stokes (48). The innings were finally concluded by Jos Buttler's unbeaten 61. But fast bowler Mark Wood became the hero by taking the crucial wicket of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (87) in the 31st over.
Morgan was worried England didn't have enough runs on the board after being sent into bat by Williamson. He said, "I thought we were probably 10 or 15 below par - given that 320 is probably a par score regardless of the game we're playing in these days.â€
Wood produced an excellent delivery that Williamson, apparently on course for a second consecutive century after his hundred in the Blackcaps' rain-ruined tournament opener against Australia, could only glove to diving wicketkeeper Buttler. Talking about the wicket, Morgan said, "Guys like him (Wood) are so valuable to the team - and you can't leave any of our bowlers out.â€
He further added, "I thought they did an outstanding job. They were truly the highlight of the day. Our batting performance was probably par or below par - so pretty average."
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Talking about the delivery, Williamson said, "He's a very good bowler, unique in the fact that he bowls at such good pace off maybe a five to 10-metre run-up - which you don't see too much around the world. He's performed very, very well for England over a period of time - especially coming back after injury... so certainly he is a strength of their bowling attack."
The defeat was made worse for Williamson when the International Cricket Council fined him 40 percent and his players 20 percent of their match fees for a slow over-rate during England's innings.
Morgan assured no stillness against World Cup champions Australia as England, in marked contrast; seek their first major 50-over title. He said, "I think if we're truly going to be contenders for this tournament, we need to beat the best teams - and Australia are one of the best teams. They always are going into a white-ball tournament. They seem to produce limited-overs cricketers at will.â€
English skipper concluded, "So to go into a game like that with no other attitude than winning is very important to us."