Morgan the outsider can lead England to triumph

Viewed by some as a loner and pilloried by many for his refusal to tour Bangladesh, but skipper could inspire one-day glory at last

WHEN England embark on their attempt to win a first global 50-over tournament at next month’s Champions Trophy, they will be led by a man who regards new ground as part of the territory.

You name it, Eoin Morgan has planted a flagpole on it — and made it his own. And he doesn’t care a jot what others may think.

For perhaps the first time since Nasser Hussain at the end of the 1990s, England have a captain who regards the established order as a problem to be solved, not a fact of life.

From the moment he inherited the cricket bug from his father and brothers in a part of north Dublin that traditionally preferred the Irish sports of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Morgan has done things his way.

English cricket should be grateful. Without his single-mindedness they might not be heading into next week’s three-match 50-over series against South Africa armed with the confidence that they really can win the Champions Trophy.

Their white-ball transformation has been well-documented, but a couple of points bear repetition.

Morgan took over shortly before the 2015 World Cup, a hospital pass which had predictably injurious consequences. But in no time he changed the mood.

In June that year, England made an astonishing 408 against New Zealand at Edgbaston, since when they have scored at 6.27 runs an over — the only team in the world to go at quicker than a run a ball in 50-over cricket.

On 20 occasions they have passed 300, a total which used to be regarded as frivolous by England’s Test-obsessed culture. And they are world-record holders, having marmalised Pakistan last summer to the tune of 444 for three at Trent Bridge.

A change in coaching staff certainly helped, with the players bet- ter able to respond to the low-key encouragement of Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace than the wellmeant busyness of Peter Moores. But without Morgan’s determination the revolution would not have been possible.

His willingness to do things differently was evident from an early age, both on and off the field.

Worried that he was putting on weight as a boy, he cut out Coke and sweets. Brian O’Rourke, meanwhile, who worked with Morgan in Leinster age-group cricket, remembers an early game against Denmark. ‘Their team had a spinner, and Eoin said before the game that he wanted to hit him, sixth or eighth ball, over mid-on to push the field out. I was a bit more conservative, but he was adamant — and it worked a treat: a one-bounce four. Several years later, it became a common tactic.’

The anecdote chimes with Rob Key, who captained Morgan during an England Lions tour of New Zealand in early 2009.

‘Some coaches thought he was a bit disengaged and didn’t have much to offer, but I thought the opposite,’ said Key.

‘If he spoke, he spoke sense and he had a good read on people. He’s the kind of guy who would think it’s the worst thing in the world to take a good spinner for just four an over. If he was up against someone like Ravi Ashwin, he’d try to hit him out of the attack. He knew what he wanted and he knew how to do it. He didn’t waste words or try to curry favour with the coaches. He believed in his way.’

Not everyone, it’s true, has been enamoured by Morgan’s approach. Irish cricket remains torn between pride and regret that one of their own ended up captaining England, while others have wondered whether he is too detached for his own good.

And there has been small-minded criticism of his refusal to sing the British national anthem at the start of matches, as well as widespread unease about his failure to tour Bangladesh last winter because of security concerns.

Yet, crucially, that unease was not felt in the dressing room. Where other captains might have been quietly accused of deserting the ship, Morgan’s decision was met with respect. Having treated his players like adults by issuing only one instruction — show no fear — he found the favour repaid.

It was why, when he returned to the Indian Premier League after the one-day games against Ireland earlier this month instead of playing 50-over cricket for Middlesex, not many batted an eyelid.

After all, he’d been proved right on that one, too: Morgan was among the first England players to embrace the importance of the IPL, at a time when the ECB regarded it as the devil’s work. Now, they can’t get enough of it.

Those who know him best say his quiet demeanour does not mean he’s aloof. Indeed, his reputation

for icy-coolness took an early blow after he was run out for 99 on his one-day international debut for Ireland against Scotland in 2006.

The man at the other end was Kyle McCallan, who recalls Morgan volubly airing his disappointment as he walked off — so volubly that he was spoken to by the match referee and ‘barbecued by the senior pros’.

McCallan said: ‘He wasn’t always the calm guy he is now, but he always had this spark to him, a hardness on himself and a steely edge. He knew where he wanted to go, and he always knew he wanted to play for England.

‘It was clear he was talented, but ut so many guys are. What makes the difference is the mental side of the game, and in that he was unique. He went to England with everyone’s blessing. Everyone understood the road to the top wasn’t going to be offered by Ireland. Yes, there is a regret there. But he’s a great advert ert for Irish cricket. And there was a lot of pride when he and Will Porterfield, who had played at the Under- 19 World Cup together, tossed up at Lord’s during the onedayer there recently.’

For his part, Morgan was typically reticent ahead of the two- matchmat series against his former countrymen. Asked if the series c o— — Ireland’s first in England – was a big moment for him, he settled for: ‘No, I don’t think so.’ Pushed to confirm that he regardedr it as just another ga game, he said: ‘Pretty much, yes yes.’ It is an air of dispassion that has served England well. For years, they have pledged to adapt their one- day cricket to the modern world, but not unti l Morgan emerged from the 2015 World Cup with the backing of Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s director of England cricket, did they succeed.

After a defeat by New Zealand at in 2015, Morgan’s team were criticised for failing to use up their allotted overs after batting first. But the captain was having none of it. All-out assault was the only way England were going to compete with the best: 300 off 45 overs was better than 299 off 50.

Batting out your overs had long been an unquestioned orthodoxy in one-day cricket, which is partly why Morgan was happy enough to look beyond it. If England lift the Champions Trophy on June 18, his vision will be beyond question.