Eoin is the best captain that I have seen – and this is why
After the 50-over World Cup in 2015, I remember Eoin Morgan imploring us to play with freedom and to enjoy it. As a team, we were at rock bottom, really. And at that time, we would have been celebrated for being bowled out in 30 overs as long as we scored quickly
In the third game, we scored 302 – but we were all out in 45.2 overs, and ended up losing. He said not to worry about that at all – we wanted to be aggressive and attack, and that is exactly what we did.
That was quite a culture shift from the pessimistic English attitude of “you bat your 50 overs”. He was not really bothered – we still scored 300. Under Eoin, the scope for what attacking cricket meant was quite different to before in English cricket.
Eoin plays the way he asks the other people to play – he leads from the front. He asks people to be positive and take aggressive options, and then you watch the captain running down the wicket first ball or playing his reverse sweeps, and it is easy to follow. He trusts people and gives them opportunities. If you get caught on the rope, he will not ask why you played that shot. He understands that cricket is a game of chance and opportunity, and you cannot just ask someone to play with freedom and express themselves and then question every decision when they fail.
After the 2015 World Cup, if we were going to fail, we wanted to fail on the more positive side every time. Whether that be getting bowled out trying to attack, or losing games bowling the best bowlers earlier in the chase for wickets. As time has gone on, we are all becoming more experienced and better players. Naturally, we can adapt more and play smarter cricket because we have improved.
When I became full-time opener in the T20 side in 2018, Eoin just said he wanted to give me the opportunity. I had done the role in a few franchises, and started doing it in the Indian Premier League.
A couple of times, I have asked if he is sure it is best for the team that I open. Maybe I should bat somewhere else. And he has always been very strong in refuting that and saying – no, he wants me to open. He has given me full backing, and that is another thing that he gives to all his players. They have that trust and confidence in him to play with freedom.
Eoin is not one for big meetings or speeches – he gives very clear simple instructions. A classroom is not a natural place for cricketers, so he encourages us to talk around the nets. Players get more out of talking things through with each other in the nets, rather than sitting down and planning and talking for ages in a team room.
One of his biggest strengths is that he is very authentic. He has been very similar all the way through. He has obviously got all that experience to fall back on, but I think he has always been quite a natural leader, someone who has got very firm views. His opinions are informed by facts and research – there is a very simple way of getting things across but if you ask for clarification or more information on something, there is a lot of thought behind it. As vice-captain, I might ask why he does something, and there would be reasons A, B, C and D.
There is a misconception that he is a free-spirited gambler. There is always serious thought behind his decisions – he uses his research as an extra tool alongside his instinct and his intuition. That is what brings excellent decisions a lot of the time because there is not too much emotion and there is a lot of thought behind them.
He reads people really well and gives guys freedom. People do need clarity about their roles at times. And if they go to him and ask why he is doing something or how he wants them to play, they receive a full brief. I have played under Eoin for a long time, and he is the best captain I have come across. I am always trying to learn from him – naturally, it has shaped the way I see things a little. When I have stepped up to be captain, he has always encouraged me to do it in my way. I am different from him and I have got to be authentic. I have been lucky, really – the times I have captained, he has generally been around, and I am able to ask him questions and discuss things. He is a great person to learn from.
His impact over the years cannot be overstated. You look at the Indian Premier League now – there are so many more English guys at the forefront in high demand. We have an England team going into tournaments as leading fancies. It is very different to where we were not so long ago.
The way Eoin has changed the way white-ball cricket has been played and perceived in England has been nothing short of revolutionary.
If you get caught on the rope, he will not ask why. He understands it is a game of chance