ICEMAN EOIN JOS MELTED
Buttler was so brilliant even the normally cool, calm Morgan got emotional
SUCH was the brilliance of Jos Buttler’s hand in England’s fourth win at the World Cup it even caused Eoin Morgan’s mask to slip.
First batting at the other end to Buttler, and then in the field marshalling a tighter-than-it-looked runchase, Morgan’s emotions got the better of him.
He is normally the iceman. The captain who rarely shows any flicker of emotion, good or bad, to what is happening on a cricket pitch.
But as the game drew to a dramatic close he was charging around Sharjah with his face lit up and pushing his team towards their 26-run win.
He probably hasn’t broken into as wide a grin after a game since England’s famous World Cup triumph over New Zealand in 2019 at Lord’s, but you could understand why.
Batting first in tricky conditions, coping with Sri Lankan excellence and then losing a key bowler mid-over, it took plenty of character for England to win and with it, make Morgan the most successful T20 international captain of all time with 43 victories, one more than MS Dhoni.
“We’re having fun,” said Morgan with a smile. “It might not look like it, but yeah I am.
“I think the runout by Jos was probably the biggest moment in the game and I was absolutely delighted.
“The bowlers did an incredible job even before Tymal Mills felt something in his quad, and then, after that, did an unbelievable job with a wet ball. And then with Jos playing one of his best-ever innings, it was just amazing to be at the other end to watch.
“Without him we would have been nowhere.”
Like most great leaders Morgan is happiest when the focus is on the good things his players are doing rather than himself.
And while Buttler deserves plenty of attention for his performance, Morgan needs to be recognised for the way he hung in and ground out arguably the ugliest 40 he has ever scored.
He showed his players that their usual free-spirited, gung-ho approach can be tempered at times to good effect, and that the value of experience is knowing when to hold and when to go.
“I’m thankful that we just hung in and trusted in our experience,” added Morgan. “We just had nowhere to go, literally nothing to do, and it was better than just slogging it up in the air.
“It’s runs on the board, it’s a contribution to winning the game and batting with one of my best mates as well.”
Mills has been diagnosed with a tight right quad and a scan today will determine whether or not he remains a part of England’s squad.
England face South Africa next in Sharjah on Saturday.