Morgan to step down as England captain
World Cup winner has been struggling for form with bat Buttler and Moeen leading candidates to replace him
Eoin Morgan will step down as captain of England’s Twenty20 and one-day sides and retire from the international game today, with Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali the favourites to replace him.
Morgan, who turns 36 in September, led England to victory at the 2019 World Cup and has been a transformative figure in their cricketing history. But he has not scored a half-century in any format of the game since last July, and made consecutive ducks in his only two innings on England’s recent ODI tour of the Netherlands. He missed the third match with a groin issue.
Morgan was appointed captain in 2014 and oversaw a radical change in England’s approach after the 2015 World Cup, liberating players to play far more aggressively. But he has repeatedly said that he does not want to play on if he is no longer worth selection as a batsman.
“If I don’t think I am good enough or I don’t feel I am contributing to the team, then I will finish,” he said before the series against the Netherlands. In 28 innings since July 1 last year, he has managed only 373 runs at an average of 17 apiece.
After 13 years of international cricket with England, and another three for his native Ireland before that, Morgan’s fitness has become another concern. He was injured playing back-to-back Twenty20 games for England in the Caribbean in January, and no longer plays consecutive matches for Middlesex. “It takes longer to recover,” Morgan said last month. “I’m just old.”
The next Twenty20 World Cup is in Australia in October, which many had predicted to be Morgan’s final tournament with England. But with worries about his form growing, he is set to announce his departure, allowing England to use the limitedovers series against India and South Africa next month to develop the team without him.
Buttler – who deputised for Morgan in the final ODI in the Netherlands last week – and Moeen are the two outstanding candidates. Were Buttler to be appointed, it would render a Test recall for him significantly less likely, with World Cups in the ODI and T20 formats in the next 16 months.