Morgan and Hales ‘no’ to Bangladesh

MORGAN: Future on line EOIN MORGAN and Alex Hales have put their England futures on the line after deciding not to tour Bangladesh next month.

The pair were the only two withdrawals confirmed by the ECB last night with director of cricket Andrew Strauss saying he was “disappointed”. Jos Buttler will captain the side in the limited-overs portion of the five-week tour in the absence of Morgan.

Strauss had previously made it clear there would be no repercussions should players decide they had doubts about touring the country after a spate of terrorist attacks.

But after spending two days trying to persuade players the tour was safe, he is likely to take their refusals personally.

Morgan will probably return as captain in India, but his long-term future in the role must now be in doubt. “While we understand and respect Eoin and Alex’s decision, we are disappointed that they have made themselves unavailable,” said Strauss.

Hales’ absence is set to lead to Lancashire’s 19-year-old batsman Haseeb Hameed earning a call-up.