<p>England captain Eoin Morgan could have been forgiven for thinking about what might have been after his former Ireland team-mates made a fine start to the World Cup as his miserable run of form continued.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Morgan was out for a duck -- his fourth in five innings -- as England started their World Cup campaign with a 111-run thrashing by arch-rivals Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.<br />By contrast fellow left-handed batsman Ed Joyce -- who went from Ireland to England and back to Ireland again -- made 84 as the Irish enjoyed their latest taste of World Cup success with a four-wicket victory over the West Indies in Nelson on Monday.<br /><br />Joyce, 36, made the switch to pursue a bid to play Test cricket -- something he couldn't do as an Ireland player.<br /><br />He was followed across the Irish Sea by Morgan, who like Joyce -- now with Sussex -- went to Middlesex, for whom he made a debut aged 19, before featuring in the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition.<br /><br />Joyce made his England ODI debut against Ireland in 2006.He then went on to score a hundred against Australia in Sydney and was a member of England's squad at the 2007 World Cup.<br /><br />But following a lacklustre showing by his adopted country in the Caribbean, Joyce was dropped.<br /><br />He was granted special dispensation by the International Cricket Council to again represent his home nation shortly before the 2011 World Cup.<br /><br />Joyce said he had qualified to play for England because he wanted to play Tests, but that as a “born and bred Irishman” he was eager to again represent his country.<br /><br />Morgan, 28, did play Test cricket, making his debut in 2010 and went on to score two hundreds.<br /><br />But a stuttering Test career has so far yielded just 16 appearances in all, the last in 2012, and a modest average of just over 30.<br /><br />One of the reasons Ireland are pushing for Test match status is they are fed up of losing their best players to England, with paceman Boyd Rankin also switching allegiance.<br /><br />Ireland's chief selector Alan Lewis -- a former Irish captain and international rugby referee, made his annoyance clear in an interview with podcast 'The Slog Sweep' last week.<br /><br />“It is a wee bit irritating to think where we could be if Eoin and Boyd were available; obviously we've got Ed back now.<br /><br />“I wouldn't want to deprive Eoin Morgan the opportunity with the ability he has, I'd want to play at the top level...It's a great story, but it's a great frustration.<br />“To get our players back, that's part of the next step.”<br /><br />Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has argued Ireland shouldn't be a 'feeder nation' for England.</p>
<p>England captain Eoin Morgan could have been forgiven for thinking about what might have been after his former Ireland team-mates made a fine start to the World Cup as his miserable run of form continued.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Morgan was out for a duck -- his fourth in five innings -- as England started their World Cup campaign with a 111-run thrashing by arch-rivals Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.<br />By contrast fellow left-handed batsman Ed Joyce -- who went from Ireland to England and back to Ireland again -- made 84 as the Irish enjoyed their latest taste of World Cup success with a four-wicket victory over the West Indies in Nelson on Monday.<br /><br />Joyce, 36, made the switch to pursue a bid to play Test cricket -- something he couldn't do as an Ireland player.<br /><br />He was followed across the Irish Sea by Morgan, who like Joyce -- now with Sussex -- went to Middlesex, for whom he made a debut aged 19, before featuring in the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition.<br /><br />Joyce made his England ODI debut against Ireland in 2006.He then went on to score a hundred against Australia in Sydney and was a member of England's squad at the 2007 World Cup.<br /><br />But following a lacklustre showing by his adopted country in the Caribbean, Joyce was dropped.<br /><br />He was granted special dispensation by the International Cricket Council to again represent his home nation shortly before the 2011 World Cup.<br /><br />Joyce said he had qualified to play for England because he wanted to play Tests, but that as a “born and bred Irishman” he was eager to again represent his country.<br /><br />Morgan, 28, did play Test cricket, making his debut in 2010 and went on to score two hundreds.<br /><br />But a stuttering Test career has so far yielded just 16 appearances in all, the last in 2012, and a modest average of just over 30.<br /><br />One of the reasons Ireland are pushing for Test match status is they are fed up of losing their best players to England, with paceman Boyd Rankin also switching allegiance.<br /><br />Ireland's chief selector Alan Lewis -- a former Irish captain and international rugby referee, made his annoyance clear in an interview with podcast 'The Slog Sweep' last week.<br /><br />“It is a wee bit irritating to think where we could be if Eoin and Boyd were available; obviously we've got Ed back now.<br /><br />“I wouldn't want to deprive Eoin Morgan the opportunity with the ability he has, I'd want to play at the top level...It's a great story, but it's a great frustration.<br />“To get our players back, that's part of the next step.”<br /><br />Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has argued Ireland shouldn't be a 'feeder nation' for England.</p>