Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BRILLIANT WHITE
It has been an emulsional journey for Morgan as he sees his ODI heroes shining on Test stage
ENGLAND one-day skipper Eoin Morgan has admitted to feeling ‘flattered’ at the influence his white-ball stars are having on England’s Test side this summer.
There is little doubt Test captain Joe Root (right, with his team) is hoping the attitude, approach and skill of the oneday side will rub off on his team as they look to find more consistency at home and especially away.
And Morgan has revealed his delight at seeing the likes of Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler (below, right) enjoy recalls to the Test side when they have been dominating the one-day game for the past few years.
“There’s a lot of guys now playing across red and whiteball formats and that is all credit to them and their ability,” said Morgan. “It is flattering and I’d be doing the exact same thing if I was in Joe’s position.
“He had a restart when he took over as captain 18 months ago, but you can’t do that every year so you try to get energy from everywhere you can get it. Test matches are difficult, draining and arduous and you’re exposed to everything so you need all the help you can get and he’s done it really well.
“And we’ve had some real success against a full-strength Australia in their backyard and then this summer against India after we went 1-0 down.
“That was a huge step forward for us, but the mentality and hunger is there to keep improving.”
Morgan also believes the decision to promote Buttler to vice-captain in the Test side in place of James Anderson (below, right) after just two matches back is the right call, having had him fulfil that role under him for nearly three years.
It was sod’s law that the game after his promotion Buttler would struggle, scoring nought and one, and almost breaking his finger trying to take a catch, but Morgan knows he will add value.
“Making Jos vice-captain was a great decision too,” added Morgan at the launch of Starpick.
“He is a very experienced player, he is very charismatic and a great leader within a group.
“Jos is very helpful to me and he will help Joe as well on his road to being a fantastic captain.
“Jos is the right man for the job especially if you are looking towards next year and the Ashes.
“You can show trust and faith in him and he will breed that around the changing room.”
Eoin Morgan was speaking at the launch of Starpick, a fantasy cricket team game where fans can play for huge prizes. Follow @Starpickfantasy for more information.