Morgan looking to leave Aussies’ hopes in Ashes

EOIN Morgan is treating England’s Champions Trophy tie against Australia as his version of the Ashes.

White-ball specialist Morgan has long acknowledged he does not expect to be adding to his 16 Test caps, none of which came against England’s oldest and highestprofile enemy.

More than five years since he last played Test cricket, England’s one-day international captain therefore reasons that the chance to eliminate Australia at the group stage of this summer’s global tournament is as close as he is going to get to the rarefied atmosphere of the Ashes themselves. England are in the enviable position of having already qualified for a semi-final in Cardiff next week – while Australia must win at Edgbaston today to sneak a last-four place.

It is a match full of opportunity and precious little pressure for the hosts, and Morgan is relishing the prospect – especially because, on his road to a home World Cup in 2019, he is pitting himself against Australia.

The 30-year-old was part of England’s memorable 2010/11 Ashes-winning squad but played only in the tour match against Victoria in Melbourne between the second and third Tests.

He said: “I’ve been in a position where I haven’t played in Ashes cricket, and certainly there are other guys down in the changing room (in the same situation).”

“If you never get to play in an Ashes game, this is the closest you will ever get to beating an Australia team.” Five other members of England’s probable team, unchanged after their win over New Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday, have also yet to play in an Ashes Test.

For all, the possibility of ending Australia’s interest in the tournament is obvious extra motivation.

Morgan, however, is already looking further ahead.

“If we’re looking to win this tournament and go beyond and win the World Cup, we need to be beating the best sides in the world – and Australia at the moment are one of them,” he added.

To that end, he will continue to lead by example – having grown in stature to the point that England’s assistant coach Paul Farbrace described him on Thursday as “the single biggest influence” behind the team’s dramatic improvement since the last World Cup.

Morgan said: “I say things in selection meetings or meetings that we have as a team, and they might be a bit far-fetched – but when we back them up as a side, they’re not. I think that builds trust within a group. If you can demonstrate what you’re trying to say and achieve and you go and achieve that, I think it goes a long way within a side.”

Others still have their say, of course, but Morgan has been insistent that England play the adventurous cricket he believes wins tournaments. COACH Eddie Jones and captain Dylan Hartley insist England will not be intimidated by a hostile reception in the first Test against Argentina in San Juan tonight.

The hosts are anticipating a 25,000 capacity crowd at Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, an outpost for the Argentinian game in the shadow of the Andes, and say the tourists can expect a raucous atmosphere.

England will also be severely handicapped by the absence of a raft of experienced players, largely due to British and Irish Lions call-ups, but Jones says he is relishing the opportunity to throw a host of newcomers into the cauldron.

“This is the sort of test we want. We are lucky that on a Lions year instead of going to play tier-two countries, England play a tier-one country. I think that’s an enormous advantage for us because we get to blood these young players against very good players so we get to see where they are up to.”

The second Test of England’s two-match tour is also in the provinces, at Sante Fe, on Saturday week.

Hartley, who was in the England team that lost 24-22 to the Pumas in Salta eight years ago, supports his coach’s stance as he prepares to win his 85th cap, moving ahead of former captain Martin Johnson and alongside Rory Underwood and Lawrence Dallaglio as the third most capped England international of all time.

“I hope lots of people turn up and that it’s full,” Hartley said. “That’s why we are here. We want a big test for the players.”