Morgan can exorcise his T20 demons
IT has been five-and-a-half years since England’s last game at a Twenty20 World Cup ended in a hail of sixes from Carlos Brathwaite — and the sight of Ben Stokes disconsolate amid the mayhem at Eden Gardens.
Neither man will be in Dubai today — Brathwaite was dropped two years ago, while Stokes remains in recuperation.
But there could scarcely be a more testing tournament opener for both sides: reigning champions West Indies against an England team led by a captain, Eoin Morgan, who is hoping to become only the second man after India’s MS Dhoni to lift both the 50-over and T20 titles — and the first to hold them both at once.
England, No1 side in the world, have won nine and drawn one of their last 11 T20 bilateral series, including a 3-0 victory in the Caribbean in 2019. West Indies, eight places below them, are nothing if not hot and cold.
But the slow pitches of the UAE will test the ingenuity of England’s strokemakers, and West Indies — propelled by the likes of Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and, if fit, Andre Russell — know how to clear the ropes in any conditions.
Then there are the events of Kolkata 2016 which still linger in the memory.
Asked if England — whose squad include seven of the 11 from that night — still bore any scars, Morgan (right) replied: ‘No.
Some of the biggest disappointments in anyone’s career are more learnings than scars. If they were scars, we would have lost a lot of players who wouldn’t have progressed like they have done.’ Pollard countered: ‘It will be in the back of their minds. What Carlos did was unbelievable. We watched it last night, and it brought goosebumps back to us. It shows that never-say-die attitude.’ Victory today in the stifling heat of the Gulf, where evening dew can make bowling second a hazard, will be a big step towards qualification for the semis — not least because the remaining two places in Group 1 have now been filled by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. But Morgan’s ice-cool aura has survived a wretched sequence with the bat, and he spelled out his team’s requirements with reassuring clarity. ‘You don’t have to be the best team in the tournament from the very beginning,’ he said. ‘But you need to be the smartest, the most experienced, the most adaptable to do well in the early stages.’
The identity of England’s strongest side remains a pressing matter. Dawid Malan remains the world’s No 1 T20 batsman, but managed a total of just 29 off 33 balls during the warm-ups against India and New Zealand.
With Morgan struggling, too, England may consider playing Moeen Ali at No3, plus the both-way all sorts of Liam Livingstone. Another option is to play both Malan and Ali, who made a powerful unbeaten 43 off 20 balls against India.
That would mean no place for Livingstone, who went off the boil with Rajasthan Royals. Whatever line-up England choose, there will be no guarantees in a group that also includes Australia and South Africa, who today get the Super 12 stage underway in Abu Dhabi. Play starts: 3pm. TV: LIVE on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.30pm