No honeymoon period for Plunkett on England return
EVEN for a player as established and experienced as Liam Plunkett, voluntarily missing matches is a risky business in England’s ODI side these days.
But, when he opted to press ahead with carefully-laid wedding plans rather than be available for the first three ODIs in Sri Lanka (which had been swapped with November’s Tests, creating the clash that has seen Eoin Morgan move his own wedding), he knew what he was signing up for.
It was an admirable life-over-work decision that was made with the management’s blessing but it opened the door for others. In the second ODI, Olly Stone showed his class, and in the third Tom Curran stepped up.
After getting married the day Stone had his first bowl for England, Plunkett and his American wife Emeleah flew to Sri Lanka for a slightly peculiar honeymoon. He is unlikely to come straight back into the XI immediately, instead being used in Tuesday’s final ODI and the standalone T20 a week tomorrow. At 33 and having played no cricket for more than two months, his body and build-up needs managing, even if on a recent trip to see his wife in Pennsylvania he located an indoor facility where he bowled 30-40 overs per week to keep him fresh.
“I got married and couldn’t just say “cheers, thanks for being my wife! See you in a month,’” Surrey’s new signing said before his first full training session in Kandy today. It’s nice that she gets to come out, she’s doing her own thing while we train. I’m glad to be here.
“We were so far into the wedding preparation with Emeleah being American that a lot of people had booked flights and I wasn’t interested in paying them back. I spoke to Morgs and the hierarchy and he encouraged me to go ahead with it, but in the back of your mind you know someone will come in and do well. That’s just sport.”
Plunkett believes that the early years of his career – when he was not such a fixture in the side – have prepared him to battle for a spot if needed. He has developed a superb record for England, with 114 wickets in 73 matches and a strike-rate of 30. His work in the middle overs is regularly cited by Morgan as the skill England struggle most replace.
“I think England know what I can bring to the game, and if I don’t get the nudge I will graft hard,” he said. “People forget for the first seven years of my England career, I didn’t play, I was 12th man the whole time. I know how to deal
to with the situation.” After a comfortable win on a flat pitch on Wednesday, England were weighing up changes with Joe Denly, who arrived even more recently than Plunkett, a contender to play his first international match in nine years ahead of Stone, as England look to take pace off the ball.