‘ Naive’ England will have no fear
EOIN MORGAN has knocked back suggestions England will be hampered by inexperience of local conditions at the World Twenty20, insisting their unique blend of naivety and talent can instead power them to glory.
The skipper conceded yesterday that his young squad lack match practice in India, with just fi ve of his 16 players having played an international match in the country.
But he says he looks on that as a positive as they try to repeat their sole limited- overs success in an ICC global event six years after emerging victorious at the 2010 World T20 in the Caribbean.
“Not only have a lot of our guys never played in the Indian Premier League ( IPL), a lot of our guys have never been to India before,” said Morgan.
“But sometimes having that experience – particularly in India, where a lot of teams come here, including us, and get hammered – can almost scar your perceptions and affect your play in the tournament.
“Having a bit of naivety along with a huge amount of talent isn’t a bad thing.”
Morgan is the most experienced member of the squad, having played eight internationals in India as well as fi ve seasons in the IPL at Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Behind him only Joe Root ( seven), Liam Plunkett ( six), Jos Buttler ( fi ve) and Alex Hales ( three) have even set foot on an Indian wicket in an international.
In addition to inexperience, England will also try to shake off some indifferent recent form in two warm- up matches on Saturday and Monday before tackling West Indies in Mumbai next Wednesday in their fi rst group match, having lost fi ve straight white- ball matches at the end of the South Africa tour this winter. “I am reasonably confi dent about things,” said Morgan. “Before the South Africa series we had a really good run of results and we’ve seen in the group we have a lot of talent and a lot of matchwinners.
“It didn’t happen in South Africa and one of the things after that trip that we talked about was, ‘ Are we still playing in the right way? Are we being beaten in the right manner, doing the things we said we’d do?’ I think we are. “The attitude in the group is still of a really positive mindset and that’s very important coming into this tournament. I would say we’re the most expressive we’ve been for a long time.
“We have a lot of talent and we encourage our players to go out and be as brash and aggressive as they can, and to take the game to the opposition.” All- out aggression will be a high- risk strategy for those with little experience of hardgripping Indian decks.
Indeed, 12 of the 15- man squad have fewer than 15 caps in T20 cricket anywhere, let alone in the subcontinent. But the veteran coaching team, led by Australian Trevor Bayliss, appear convinced that getting on the front foot in matches is the way forward.
England – who are in Group One alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and a qualifi er from the preliminary group that includes Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong – will play New Zealand in their fi rst warm- up on Saturday.
Yesterday they had a light training session at the Wankhede Stadium with no major dramas, aside from when Joe Root was struck in the face by a ball sent down by Bayliss during catching practice.
Organisers were concerned by the prospect of less- friendly fi re as they gear up to the start of the tournament proper and yesterday confi rmed Pakistan’s match against hosts India – originally set to be played in Dharamsala a week on Saturday – would be moved to Kolkata after the northern venue raised concerns about security.