CWC 2019: “Our basics get challenged when we don’t play on batter-friendly wickets”, says Eoin Morgan

England are now in danger of missing out on the semi-finals.

Morgan failed to tackle the short ball from Starc | Getty

After a humiliating 64-run defeat at the hands of Australia, England skipper Eoin Morgan defended his team’s high-risk/high reward mantra in the ongoing World Cup.

Chasing 286 to win, English batsmen were once again found wanting as the Aussie left-arm pacers Jason Behrendorff and Mitchell Starc claimed 9 wickets between them to bundle out the hosts for 221 in 44.4 overs at Lord’s on Tuesday (June 25).

With this loss, England are now in danger of missing out on the semi-finals. The three lions will have to win at least one, maybe both, of their final two games against India and New Zealand if they are to reach the last-four stage.

“I think with this game and the last (defeat by Sri Lanka), we struggled with the basics of what we call our batting mantra,” Morgan told reporters after the match.

“Strong intent, building partnerships, and doing it in our own way. I think our basics get challenged a lot more when we don’t play on batter-friendly wickets.”

Asked if there had been any discussion of changing that “mantra” of relentless attack as the wickets have tumbled early, Morgan - just as he did when getting caught on the boundary for 4 - came out swinging.

“It’s always evolving - I don’t know if you’ve watched the last two years of the way that we’ve played but it’s evolved quite a lot,” he remarked.

When enquired if it had happened during this tournament, the England captain said: “Yeah, absolutely. I thought the way we played against Afghanistan in the first 15 overs, and probably in 2015 and ‘16, would not have happened.”

After their loss to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, England greats Geoff Boycott and Michael Vaughan had suggested that Morgan and company need to find a plan B.

“We have to really dig deep in these last couple of games here, not go back on how we know we play well,” Morgan said. “I think that’s our mindset, that’s what’s made us so successful in the last four years.

“Two back-to-back losses can sometimes make you as a team think differently, but we are not going to go away from our method of playing. We need to adjust to situations and then conditions, but we are not for one minute going to take a backward step, especially in these last two (group) games.”

England have not beaten India or New Zealand in a World Cup game since 1992 but Morgan is still confident of his team’s chances.

“Our chances are still strong, everything is within our control. We just need to produce a performance worthy of winning one or two of those games,” Morgan concluded. 

(With Reuters inputs)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 26 Jun, 2019

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