EOIN’S OVER AND OUT

EOIN MORGAN, the only England skipper to lift the 50-over World Cup, will retire from international cricket today.

Jos Buttler will take over the captaincy full time having done the job 14 times already across both 50 over and T20 formats.

Morgan, 35, raised the trophy (below) after the dramatic super-over victory against New Zealand at Lord’s almost three years ago. But his greatest legacy will be the way he changed the team’s style.

He spent seven and a half years in charge of England’s white ball teams, but his form and fitness over the past year came into sharp focus last week.

On a ODI tour of Holland, Morgan scored ducks in the first two games before withdrawing from the third with an injury.

He had made it clear earlier in the season he would physically struggle to back up matches if they came too thick and fast and that could have been a real problem in the next tournament in October – the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The lack of runs was a problem, too, with several young power hitters emerging such as Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone.

With the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to be fitted in at some point, Morgan could see how his place would come under even more pressure.

Before the series in Amsterdam, he said: “If I don’t think I am good enough or I don’t feel I am contributing to the team, then I will finish.”

His captaincy, inspired by good friend Brendon Mccullum, was revolutionary following the 2015 World Cup debacle. It was alongside Trevor Bayliss that Morgan was able to put his stamp on the teams, bringing the same positive, unorthodox thinking which characterised his batting.

Morgan, who played 16 Tests, 248 ODIS and 115 T20s, of which 23 ODIS were for Ireland, will continue as captain of London Spirit in The Hundred.