England captain Eoin Morgan lauded Sam Billings for his admirable attitude as the right-hander once again showed why the selectors have kept him around the set-up despite limited opportunities. 

Billings scored a magnificent ton (118) in England's 19-run defeat to the arch-rivals Australia in the first of three ICC Super League ODIs in Manchester on Friday (September 16). 

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He was the only member of the England XI not part of their successful 2019 World Cup campaign. While he might have been picked for that tournament if not for a shoulder injury, the fact of the matter is that Billings hasn't been considered part of the first-choice line-up. 

He wouldn't have been playing this series either if premier all-rounder Ben Stokes wasn't in New Zealand. 

In such circumstances, it becomes difficult to motivate yourself after a while. Billings, however, has stuck to his guns and kept working hard over his game. His brilliant ton amidst a great deal of adversity is testament to his ability and character. 

“Sam played brilliantly. Really, really well,” Morgan was quoted as saying by PA. “His opportunities over the last four years have been extremely limited and sporadic at times because the position he bats (number six) is one that myself, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have played a lot of games in during that period."

“But today he really stood out in a spot that is really difficult to bat, where you can be thrown in at all different circumstances. I thought he and Jonny did well to keep us in the game for so long and in with a genuine chance."

While Billings, and even Jonny Bairstow's (84), efforts didn't let the tide shift decisively for a while, Morgan felt there was too much ground to cover after Josh Hazlewood's outstanding opening burst left the home team reeling at 57/4 chasing 295. 

“I thought their score was in and around par, maybe below par,” he said. “But it probably slipped away for us in the first 10 or 12 overs with the bat. They were outstanding, incredibly accurate and they got the ball moving. Josh Hazlewood, in particular, had a day out."

"I can’t remember too many instances like that, it’s not often it happens to us."

Hazlewood eventually ended with figures of 3 for 26 off his 10 overs and was pretty pleased about it, although the pacer did say the visitors didn't expect the game to go close after the collapse at the beginning. 

“England’s top order is probably the form top order in the world in the last three or four years, so I guess going against them is a good measure of where you’re at,” Hazlewood said.

“It was good fun to bowl upfront and test myself and to keep them down to 20-odd for two in the first 10 was great."

“They always bat deep so I expected them to come back into it, but probably not take it as close as they did in the end," he concluded.