Skipper Morgan would drop himself to boost England’s World Cup bid
Eoin Morgan insists he would not think twice about dropping himself if it helped England’s chances of winning the World Cup.
As captain, Morgan has spearheaded England’s shift from also-rans at the 2015 tournament to top of the rankings ahead of next summer’s edition on home soil, and is the country’s top scorer in one-day cricket with 5,618 runs.
Despite his considerable position of strength, the Dubliner has made it clear that nobody should consider themselves certainties over the next eight months. Speaking on the eve of England’s one-day series against Sri Lanka, Morgan told Sky Sports Cricket: “When you drop yourself as captain it almost sets that example, that nobody’s place is cemented in this side.
“If I’m not supposed to be in the team I’ll be the first one to say it. If it means making a tough decision I’m more than capable of doing that. It’s a brave call, but we’ve come a long way with this team. We need to put ourselves in the best position in order to be contenders.”
England have won only six of their 21 ODIS in Sri Lanka, with a solitary series victory in 2007, but are well fancied this time.
“We are very happy to be favourites. We’ve been doing some good stuff and like being favourites,” said vice-captain Jos Buttler .
“We’ve been playing well. It’s been tricky in the past for England sides to come here but we are full of confidence and looking forward to the challenge, adapting our style of play and pushing the boundaries of what we are capable of in these conditions.”