Morgan: I’ll drop myself to help win World Cup
ROARING FORTIES (16)RebeccaBastiman59-7(D)..DAllan 90 MEDICI MOON (16) S Dixon 4 9-7 ........................... T Ladd (5) 90 BENJAMIN THOMAS (17) J J Quinn 4 9-6 (BF) .............. J Hart 97 DROVER (169) K Dalgleish 3 9-5 ............................. D Costello 109 ROSEMAY (18) R M Smith 4 9-4 ................... Ben Robinson (3) 96 DAWN BREAKING (21)RMWhitaker39-3 ............ JFanning 84 LADY SONIA (17) Andrew Slattery (IRE) 3 9-1 (D)..T Hamilton 134 MAGICAL MOLLY JOE (9) T D Barron 4 8-13 ........... Ben Curtis 71 SONG OF SUMMER (9) I Jardine 3 8-12 ............. J Gormley (3) 103 PALAVICINI RUN (9) Miss L Perratt 5 8-9 (D2) ...... J P Sullivan 88 HARBOUR PATROL (9) Rebecca Bastiman 6 8-7 (D3) ............ ...................................................................... Phil Dennis (3)
...... C Hardie ....... P Hanagan ................................... A Mullen SANS SOUCI BAY (11) S Dixon 4 9-6 (D5) ................ T Ladd (5) 107 KYLLACHY DRAGON (9) I Jardine 3 9-5 ............. J Gormley (3) 122 BALLYMOUNT (16)MWEasterby39-5(D) ............... CHardie 94 GLEN MOSS (14) Roger Fell 9 9-4 (D4) ................... T Hamilton 101 YORBELUCKY (13) P Evans 3 9-4 (D) ...................... P Hanagan 118 KUPA RIVER (16) Roger Fell 4 9-4 .................. C McGovern (3) 100 POMME DE TERRE (9) M Dods 6 9-2 ............... Paula Muir (5) 99 DESERT DREAM (16) M W Easterby 4 9-2 (D) ... Nathan Evans 106 JAY KAY (21) K Burke 9 9-0 (CD3) ............................ Ben Curtis 86 HAVANA GO (9) K Dalgleish 3 9-0 .................................. G Lee 112 MISCHIEF MANAGED (16) T Easterby 4 8-13 (CD) ...... D Fentiman 120 REINFORCED (42) M Dods 5 8-12 (CD2) .................... A Mullen 111 INGLORIOUS (21)KDalgleish48-11(CD) ..................... JHart 107 ROYAL DUCHESS (61) Mrs L Normile 8 8-11 (CD4) .......... Connor Murtagh (5) 108
15-2 Keen led 1f, tracked leader, led again over 2f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong, 2nd of 13, 3/4l behind Twin Appeal at Beverley 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gs in Sep. 4-1 Led, ridden over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, weakened towards finish, 4th of 12, 2 3/4l behind Beverley Bullet at Carlisle 7f hcp 0-80 (4) gs in Aug. to buy into it.” Vice-captain Jos Buttler would inherit the reins in the unlikely scenario of Morgan’s form slumping dramatically enough for him to step aside.
He is an increasingly influential figure across all formats and deputised impressively when Morgan declined to tour Bangladesh on security grounds in 2016.
Buttler stepped in for Morgan again yesterday, but this time it was only for pre-match media duties at the Ranjiri Dambulla International Stadium.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was in strident mood, happy to shake off the underdog tag which often follows England in the sub-continent.
They have won only six of their 21 ODIs on the island, with a solitary series victory in 2007, but are well fancied this time.
Sri Lanka lie eighth in the world after a winless run of nine series and bowed out of the Asia Cup after successive defeats to Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
“We are very happy to be favourites.
“We’ve been doing some good stuff and like being favourites,” he said.
“We’ve been playing well. It’s been tricky in the past for England sides to come here but we are full of confidence and looking forward to the challenge, adapting our style of play and pushing the boundaries of what we are capable of in these conditions.”