England expects summer success
THE STARS of the IPL returned to the England fold on Wednesday, but it was instead the old guard who proved they could still hold the key to Champions Trophy success.
The summer began in earnest for Eoin Morgan’s side against South Africa at Headingley, as the squad’s full contingent were back together again for the first time ahead of a full schedule in June and July.
And while all eyes were on returning superstars Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes, who missed the Champions Trophy warm-up matches against Ireland due to their IPL commitments, it was instead skipper Morgan and the easily under-appreciated Moeen Ali who came to the fore.
England ended up with a comfortable 72-run win over the Proteas after soft dismissals saw the visitors fell surprisingly short of their target of 339 – Morgan’s 11th ODI century and Ali’s explosive 77 making the difference.
And with two more warm-up games against the same opposition before June’s Champions Trophy competition, skipper Morgan is confident his side are in fine shape.
“That’s the best way we could have started,” he said. “Playing against a strong South Africa team and putting in an all-round performance was brilliant.
“Moeen was deservedly manof-the-match and has one of the hardest jobs batting at seven.
“If he didn’t get any runs and had a bad day, I’d probably pick him again. I have that much confidence in the guy.
“It was a very satisfying effort against a really strong team, especially given the start they had with the bat.”
Morgan’s century was his third in his past eight ODI innings, having not scored one in his previous 24 matches, and those calling for the skipper’s removal last summer will now be eating humble pie ahead of the Champions Trophy.
And if he continues in a similar vein, England’s middle order looks set to be the most explosive in the tournament, with Joe Root, Stokes, Buttler and Ali all also in form.
Morgan said: “I have felt good for a while. I didn’t play as much in the IPL as I would have liked, but I got a few runs in the Ireland game and to continue that against South Africa is a good feeling.”
The only thing that marred Wednesday’s triumph was fitness concerns over Stokes, who bowled just two overs because of a sore left knee.
The Durham all-rounder justified his tag as the IPL’s most expensive foreigner after signing for £1.7million, scoring 316 runs – including a maiden T20 century – for Rising Pune Supergiant at a strike rate of 142.98, and taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.18.
Moreover, Buttler helped the Mumbai Indians to glory having scored 272 runs in the tournament, and Woakes was one of the most lethal bowlers with 17 wickets at an average of 22.7 for Kolkata Knight Riders.
But Morgan is adamant he could have used Stokes more if necessary on Wednesday, and that after a four-day training camp in Spain last week, his IPL exports are showing no signs of weariness.
“To have three match-winners come back into the team having watched them contribute so much to the IPL is a huge boost,” said Morgan.
“The IPL is a tough tournament but Spain was brilliant for us; a lot of hard work and team bonding.
“Probably the three guys who missed out on the Ireland games came back with more enthusiasm. They were delighted to be home and on the cusp of a big tournament. They are fired up for it.
“Ben comes back as the competition’s MVP and it’s great to see him performing so well in what is the biggest domestic tournament in the world.”