Morgan admits England still have a point to prove
Eoin Morgan admitted England will start the Royal London Series against West Indies with “angst” hanging over their one-day international credentials after their Champions Trophy semi-final exit to Pakistan.
Morgan’s 50-over specialists have not played together since they were shocked by the tournament winners in Cardiff in mid-June.
It was a chastening result which left a question mark over plans for the 2019 World Cup and - as England completed preparations for a five-match series against the Windies, starting at Old Trafford today - Morgan acknowledged they have a point to prove.
“We probably felt we weren’t good enough to get through to the final, so there is a little bit of angst there in the will to produce a significant performance throughout this series,” he said.
There are potential highprofile sideshows in the offing over the next two weeks too, with Ben Stokes back after his one-match break in Saturday’s Twenty20 setback to face favourite old adversary Marlon Samuels.
The pair have locked horns just once - in England’s ICC World Twenty20 final defeat - since the 2015 Test series in the Caribbean during which Samuels mocked the fiery England and Durham allrounder by raising a salute to him after he was caught in the deep in Grenada.
Morgan insists he has “no worries” about any confrontations escalating between the pair - even with Stokes one more misdemeanour away from a possible International Cricket Council ban at the start of this winter’s Ashes.