Eoin Morgan faces ultimate test in England’s crunch World Cup week | Vic Marks

Now it is getting tense in the England camp. They cannot afford many more mishaps. In fact they may not have room for any if they are to ensure that the goal of World Cup glory on home soil, which has been targeted for so long, does not become another pipe dream.

Here comes the ultimate test of Eoin Morgan and there is every reason for him to be disgruntled just at the moment. In the wake of two defeats in the past week, the first of which against Sri Lanka being the most exasperating and unexpected, there is now the piercing observations of former colleagues. Kevin Pietersen, an old supporter of England’s one-day international captain, tweeted: “Eoin Morgan looked scared. That is a horror sign,” after watching him bat against Mitchell Starc. To note that a batsman is “out of form” or “technically deficient” is fine but to suggest that he is “scared” truly stings. Morgan had to be at his iciest to shrug that off after the game at Lord’s.

Of greater concern for Morgan is the urgency for his side to win both their remaining games, against India on Sunday at Edgbaston and New Zealand the following Wednesday in Chester-le-Street. They may as well acknowledge that the situation is tricky. Self-denial does not work but nor does self-flagellation. So far his players have reacted badly in tight situations yet they still have the capacity to win even against the best sides.

Morgan has begun that process by referring to a loss of confidence in the camp. The protestations that these matches are no different to ordinary ODIs are disappearing; so too are the assertions of how much they love to chase – it certainly seems that they do not relish chasing targets of less than 300. World Cup matches are different and over the past four years it has been tough to replicate the extra tension as England zipped up the rankings.

There has been some sloppy thinking out on the field in this World Cup. The pursuit of 233 runs to beat Sri Lanka was slapdash and ill-constructed at Headingley; at Lord’s they seemed surprised by the introduction of Jason Behrendorff in what proved an inspired move by Australia. When Morgan says: “We have struggled with the basics of what we call our batting mantra,” he is starting to sound like Miranda’s mum. Yes, England must bat “in partnerships” but that is as obvious as craving an end to world poverty/ climate change/The Hundred.

They would never cite this as an excuse, which is the wise course, but some of the surfaces have not helped England greatly. Half a dozen years ago in the bad old days England’s ODI team were still quite serviceable when playing at home on bowler-friendly pitches. They had craggy batsmen and wily bowlers which meant that 260 could often be a satisfactory total.

The current side has proved to be dominant on very flat batting pitches.

England have batsmen who can scorch the turf with their drives or pepper the spectators in the stands and a batch of resilient bowlers when the conditions deter the ball from moving. As a consequence they have prospered in high-scoring matches. But when there is some spice in the pitch and batting becomes a more technical, cerebral exercise there are disturbing signs of vulnerability. There was some assistance for the bowlers at Headingley and Lord’s and on both occasions England’s top-order faltered.

James Vince is clean bowled for 0 by Australia’s Jason Behrendorff at Lord’s.



James Vince is clean bowled for 0 by Australia’s Jason Behrendorff at Lord’s. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Consequently Jason Roy has suddenly become a totemic figure. Life was so much simpler when he was in the team. England were thrashing Bangladesh, thanks to his majestic 153, and West Indies in the match that he picked up his hamstring injury. Since then they have defeated only Afghanistan and Roy’s replacement, James Vince, has scored 40 runs in three innings.

The hierarchy has been adamant that they will not bring Roy back until he’s properly fit, which is the correct stance to take. But they are now aching for his return. As a batsman he is not necessarily a reassuring figure; given his aggressive approach he can easily fail, but they all know now that when he comes off he can change the course of the game. No such confidence emanates from the presence of Vince at the top of the order even if he always times the ball so sweetly prior to departure. Hence they may be tempted to turn a blind eye to Roy’s restricted movement in the field come Sunday.

If Roy is unfit for the match against India there may still be an inclination to drop Vince. But there is a snag here. There are no other specialist batsmen in the squad. So unless Joe Root opens the batting and everyone moves up a notch Vince will surely retain his place in the absence of Roy.

By this stage of the tournament England were hoping to have the freedom to juggle their pace attack but given their predicament they were not inclined to do so against Australia. So Jofra Archer played at Lord’s despite experiencing some stiffness in his left side before the game and he was not quite at his best. He is due a rest but is now deemed such an integral part of the attack that they may not dare to leave him out. That was not part of the plan four weeks ago.

So Morgan faces tough opponents and tough choices throughout a momentous week, which will decide whether his side reaches the semi-finals and may well dictate his reputation as an England captain. We remember World Cup winners rather than being No 1 in the rankings.

source: theguardian.com