NZ v ENG 2019: Eoin Morgan praises Chris Jordan after all-round performance in T20I series finale

Jordan scored crucial runs and delivered a fantastic super-over as England won the T20I series in Auckland.

Chris Jordan | Getty

England captain Eoin Morgan was effusive in praise for pacer Chris Jordan after his all-round performance in a thrilling fifth and final game in Auckland this Sunday (November 10) helped the team defeat New Zealand 3-2 in the T20I series. 

In a rain-curtailed 11 overs per side game that had dramatic twists and turns, Jordan first allowed three lions to set up the super-over finish with a timely 3-ball 12* in the 20th over of the run-chase and then came out to deliver an eight-run over defending the 18-run super-over target. 

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"I don't think both sides mind a bit of extra time or a Super Over," Morgan said after the win. "It makes for great entertainment. It's obviously brilliant to play in big-pressure situations, but we're glad we came out the other side of it."

"I'm surprised we got any sort of a game in today with the weather that was around, but it's always nice to play here. We chopped and changed a little bit, and the guys coming in did a really good job."

"The Black Caps played well again, bowled really well, and there was nothing between the sides for the 11-over game. And then, the Super Over - I thought the standout was Chris Jordan, a guy who's extremely calm under pressure and delivers," he added. 

Jordan has long been England's T20I specialist, and this was a performance that holds him in good stead with two back to back World Cups in coming years. 

"A few of us have played T10 cricket so the mood was very calm the entire way through," he said. "I just tried to keep a clear mind. I'd bowled a super over before in Sharjah against Pakistan [in 2016, conceding just three runs], so it was more or less going through processes and letting what will be will be."

All in all, having rested some of its main players and brought in quite a few youngsters to Kiwi shores, England got what it wanted out of this series. 

"To win it in such fashion with a young, inexperienced side in the long term will pay huge dividends for us," Morgan told BBC

"It says a lot about the team. It gives us huge strength in depth moving forward and it creates a really good headache for us when it comes to selection."

"When you select a squad like we did, you always run the risk of getting drilled, particularly away from home. We are further ahead than we thought."

(Inputs from Cricbuzz)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 10 Nov, 2019

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