Eager Rose is all ready to start over
AT HEADINGLEY EOIN Morgan ignited the summer with a brilliant century as England laid down a significant marker for the Champions Trophy against the world’s No 1 50-over team, South Africa.
The England skipper will take his side to Southampton today with a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series after hitting his third century of the calendar year as his side posted a 72-run victory.
And he is hoping the momentum gained can be carried through the ICC event starting on June 1 as England seek their first 50-over trophy.
For all that his authority had not dipped in the dressing room, the England skipper had given himself some work to do with the powers that be following his decision not to tour Bangladesh on security grounds last October.
Some repair work was done when he stepped back into the role for the tour of India. And two centuries in his last seven matches – in Cuttack and Antigua – had further cemented his return.
Yet any captain will tell you that even if there is never a bad time to post a man of the match performance, laying one down on the eve of a big tournament on home soil could not be bettered.
And this was one of those days when Morgan very much set the tone, both with the bat and in the field.
Joe Root and Alex Hales set a decent stage for their captain, having rebuilt England’s innings to three figures after the departure of Jason Roy in the second over.
Morgan’s brisk 21-run partnership with Root for the third wicket and a quickstep 68 for the fourth with Ben Stokes put England in a decent position.
The loss of Stokes, who may be rested this weekend as a precaution after suffering a sore left knee, followed quickly by Jos Buttler, undermined the strong foundations, leaving England on 198-5.
Step forward Moeen Ali, who, in tandem with his captain, set up the win.
Jonny Bairstow has been restricted to drinks carrying and substitute fielder duties – both of which he performed here to notable ovations from a partisan crowd in the Western Terrace. But if he was less than happy to be sitting in a bib on his home ground despite continually advertising his impressive white -ball credentials (his 174 on this ground against Durham earlier this month the most eyecatching), Moeen’s innings did not improve Bairstow’s Champions Trophy chances.
The off-spinning allrounder, inset, smashed a 51-ball 77, including five maximums, to take England to 339-5 at the close of their innings and cement his worth with the bat for the ICC trophy next month.
Bairstow is set to get a run out, at either Southampton on Saturday or Lord’s on JUSTIN ROSE is hoping a return to where it all began for him can help shake off the last shivers of his Masters hangover.
The Englishman lost to Sergio Garcia in a dramatic play-off for the year’s opening Major last month. Since then, he has missed the cut in the fourball Zurich Classic, when he was paired with Henrik Stenson, and finished 18 shots behind winner Si Woo Kim at the Players Championship.
Rose is at Wentworth this week for the PGA Championship – which he has also lost on extra holes, in 2007 and 2012. But if he ends up maintaining the habit of topping the leaderboard every five years at the course that inspired him to become a pro, he believes he will set himself up for a big summer.
“It’s always a very special week for me and it’s nice to be back,” said Rose, who grew up 20 minutes from the Surrey course and returns for the first time as Olympic champion.
“It’s a tournament I really enjoy. It would be a full-circle kind of moment for me if I was to win here.
“There’s often a lot of kids behind the 18th green looking for golf balls and gloves. I was one of those kids 25 years ago.
“It takes me back and makes me realise how far I’ve come, to turn up at this tournament and be a legitimate contender for it.”
Rose took his family off on a boat around the Bahamas following his Masters near-miss and, despite a disappointing final-round 80 at Sawgrass, believes there are encouraging signs of a return to form.
“I actually did really well to make the cut at Sawgrass,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling great about my game. I down-tooled a bit for a couple of weeks after the Masters to rest up and recover.
“There’s a big summer ahead and you are going to need a lot of energy to get through it.
“It was sacrificing a bit of form for a few weeks and I see this next block of golf as building things back up towards the US Open.
“It always takes just one putt, one swing, one round, to get a bit of momentum going and then you’re back; you’re up and running.
“One thing I have learnt in my career is that you’re never far away from playing well.
“It can feel the opposite at times. When you aren’t playing well, good golf feels so far away. But I know it isn’t. It’s always just around the corner.”
Stenson, the man Rose beat to gold in Rio last year and who was this week awarded the Seve Ballesteros Trophy as the European Tour’s Players’ Player of the Year, is also scratching around after a poor start to his season.
He is back at Wentworth for the first time in three years to find a remodelled West Course and a prize fund increased to £5.4million as the first event in the European Tour’s new Rolex Series.
“Some of the bunkers that were very penal before are now more playable,” said Stenson, the Open champion.
“The greens are rolling nicely. They have done a terrific job in getting them in this great shape this early.”