Morgan’s English captaincy in doubt
Decision to skip tour of Bangladesh over fear of terrorist attacks is now drawing criticism
Debate over Eoin Morgan’s decision to turn his back on the upcoming tour of Bangladesh because of security fears continues to rage.
Former England skippers and fans alike believe Morgan, captain of the country’s shorter formats teams, should be on that flight to Dhaka on Sept. 29. But Morgan, who has every right to decide what’s best for him and his family, decided to stay home.
The decisions taken by Morgan and Alex Hales to skip the tour came immediately after England cricket board chairman Andrew Strauss gave each player a choice to stay home or make the tour.
The trip has been under scrutiny after a terrorist attack in a cafe in Dhaka in July killed 20 people, but the England board’s security division headed by respected security officer Reg Dickason assured the players they were safe to travel.
What upset Strauss and the England establishment is that Morgan undermined Dickason’s assessment and as captain should have set a better example.
“Captains do have wider responsibilities,” said Strauss, “a duty to the team rather than just themselves. But they are also human beings and have the same questions and concerns as everyone else.”
But reading between the lines I reckon Morgan will be relieved of his captaincy just prior or immediately after England’s tour of India in January.
Morgan claims his decision to bail out was influenced because of two incidents. A bomb exploded outside the Bengaluru stadium during an Indian Premier League match in 2010 and another went off when playing in the Dhaka Premier Division in 2013.
These two incidents, he says, left him “scarred.’’ He also said he no longer fancies playing in places “where things have become a distraction.”
Is this man for real? There is no place in the world today devoid of outside distractions and if a terrorist decides to strike it could happen anywhere, including on his very own street. And the “scarring” the poor man suffered in Bengaluru and Dhaka confuses me.
For the past six years the “traumatized” Morgan has faithfully returned to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Who wouldn’t for $250,000 for two months of action every April and May? In December, he will pad his pockets with some $100,000 turning out for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash. People are convinced Morgan is actually driven by cash rather than the prestige of leading England.
This isn’t the first time Morgan has come under fire.
The Welshman has upset fans and the establishment for steadfastly refusing to sing the national anthem and no big deal has been made of it, unlike in the U.S., where politicians and others have dumped on San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick for his refusal to stand for the national anthem to highlight the oppression of black people in his country.
Morgan’s stand lost even more credibility after Test captain Alastair Cook decided he would travel, even though his wife is due to have their second baby in October.
You can bet your bottom dollar Morgan will be padded up and ready for the next IPL season in 2017 with the Sunrisers, bombs or no bombs.
Simmons shown the door
The firing of coach Phil Simmons shouldn’t come as a surprise. It would be a surprise if there wasn’t something dramatic to come out of the West Indies after a relatively uneventful two months.
The West Indies board just couldn’t wait to make the front pages again and on Wednesday tied the can to Simmons because of “differences of culture and strategic approach,” whatever that means.
Simmons worked wonders with Ireland before deciding to return home and help his country. He must regret it now. The players loved working with a professional coach, but the board had other ideas and his tenure lasted a mere 18 months.
In that short time he banged heads with the board in 2015 when he had the temerity to question it over the selection of the team for the tour of Sri Lanka and was promptly suspended and replaced.
He was reinstated two months later and led the West Indies to the World T20 crown. Since then, the board dumped skipper Darren Sammy and its legendary bowling coach Curtly Ambrose.
The firing comes weeks before the West Indies’ upcoming T20 matches against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. Team manager Joel Garner and coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick will fill in ... Pakistan will give Shahid Afridi a farewell match against the West Indies. That’s a classy touch to send off one of the best all-rounders of this era. Take note West Indies. This is something its board should have done for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, one of the greatest Test batsmen, when he quit.