SL v ENG 2018: Providing younger guys experience was best for the team, says Eoin Morgan 

England rested their few key players and lost the fifth ODI by 219 runs on the DLS method.

Morgan rested himself for the final ODI at Colombo | Getty

Defending the decision to rest himself and some of the side’s crucial players for the fifth ODI at Colombo, England skipper Eoin Morgan has said that it was the best option considering the objective of providing younger players in the team some quality game time in the middle.

Leaving himself out, along with all-rounder Chris Woakes and pacer Olly Stone, Morgan saw England struggle to get going with the ball as well as the bat, on a very rare day for the no.1 ranked ODI side in the world. 

Sri Lanka piled on a mountain of runs, ending with a very stiff first innings score of 366/6 in their 50 overs, before almost running through the explosive visiting batting line-up, which finished with 132/9 in just 26.1 overs before the rain intervened and the game got awarded to the home side by a margin of 219 runs on the DLS method. 

This is where Morgan cleared that the tourists got what they sought from the game and said, "Individual form doesn’t come into it when you’re planning for a World Cup, What was best for the team was to give the younger guys some experience,” before he stressed, "It’s very important for our progress as a squad, We need to know what every player can bring, what their weaknesses are, and you only find that out by playing them."

"We made some changes and gave some opportunities to some guys who haven’t been playing. Sri Lanka put us under the pump which gives us a good experience," he signed off. 

(Inputs from AFP)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 24 Oct, 2018

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