JOIN US Eoin Morgan’s own form may not be encouraging but the England skipper has had a big role in changing the way the team approached shorter versions of the game. A fearless, aggressive brand of cricket has carried England to World T20 final just 12 months after crashing out of 50-over World Cup in Australia from group stage.
“It’s quite a stark difference from 12 months ago,” agreed Morgan. “It’s hard to believe in some ways. I would never have imagined the turnaround being so immediate or having such an immediate impact. But I’ve always stressed the talent we have in the changing-room and the hard work we put in. The key component in that has been the mindset of the players and back-room staff, and it’s rubbed off on everyone. Tomorrow, the opportunity that we do have is a product of that. It’s very exciting. I’m just very proud. Very, very proud,” he remarked.
Morgan avoided clichéd phrases and admitted that Sunday’s wasn’t just another game and that his team-mates need to be focused on the job. “We’re quite real about things, we know it’s not going to be a normal game,” he said. “Even the semifinal we played, there was quite a lot of hype around the expectation of playing in a final, and I want all of our players to embrace it, tomorrow everything will feel a little bit rushed to start with, it is important we are in the right frame of mind to slow it down when needed and more importantly execute our skills,” he offered.
The left-hander talked-up his team’s death bowling and felt it will be handy in a small ground like the Eden.
"It's a small ground here and given that it's going to be a good wicket that (death bowling) could be a key area for us,” he noted. “The last game we went for 20 runs in four overs, two from (Ben) Stokes and two from (Chris) Jordan. I thought they were very clear in their thoughts and they executed exceptionally well. Having that in your side is another string to your bow, not a lot of sides coming through have great death bowlers. Past champions that stick out — someone like Lasith Malinga — but since he's been injured in this tournament, nobody has really stood out as an unbelievable death bowler, but those two have for us.”