CAPTAIN CRISIS
Morgan’s struggling even more than Cook!
No sooner has the pressure eased on one captain than it is being felt by another.
The news that Alastair Cook will miss Sunday’s fourth one- day international in Colombo because of over- rate indiscretions has paved the way for Eoin Morgan to take the reins.
Since Morgan is without a half-century in 15 one-day innings, the timing may not be ideal.
But England coach Peter Moores is hoping his temporary promotion will act as a ‘catalyst’ for a player who will need to be at his impish best if England are to have any chance of challenging for the World Cup early next year.ar.
Morgan’s latest failure, out for a single as hee hooked a short ball fromm Angelo Mathews straight to deep backward square leg during England’s restorative five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Hambantota, felt like the act of a player wondering where his next score is coming from.
But England regard him as crucial to their gameplan of scoring heavily in the last 20 overs of an innings. And no player in the current squad has made more than Morgan’s six centuries in the format.
‘He’ll be very disappointed that he hasn’t yet managed to impact on the series,’ said Moores. ‘He’s a top flight one-day player. Maybe the captaincy will be a nice catalyst for him and allow him to take his mind off himself and just go out and play.’ Cook has been suspended for one game after ttwice failing in the past 12 months to keep his bowlers up with the required over rate — against India at Cardiff in August and now Hambantota.
Cook’s batting travails have masked Morgan’s own struggles. And Morgan’s have been the more surprising. A naturally gifted striker of the ball with an eye for improbable shot-making, he has looked recently like a magician shorn of his wand. Moores said: ‘The frustration for him will be how he’s got out a couple of times. You don’t go away from your basics.
‘You’ve got to believe in yourself. Maybe the captaincy can be a healthy distraction.’
There is frustration, too, that Cook has been forced out of a game having just presided over a victory that has unexpectedly dragged England back into this seven-match series.
And while’s Cook’s 34 from 42 balls had a familiar air about it — getting in, then getting out, with Moeen Ali apparently playing a different game at the other end — Moores insisted his under-fire captain had been ‘timing it beauti- fully’. The trick now will be to ensure that the Hambantota result is not a one- off, and Sri Lanka are expected to be boosted on Sunday by the return of the vastly experienced Mahela Jayawardene, who missed Wednesday night’s match because it was his young daughter’s birthday.
But Moores spoke of laughter on the team bus after the game — rare enough on this tour to merit a mention — and of the opportunity created for others by Cook’s enforced absence.
Alex Hales will open with Ali after being given a chance on Wednesday night at No 3 at the expense of Ian Bell, and the vacant slot in the line-up could be taken by James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman who was one of the stars of the new Royal London one-Day Cup last summer.
The England coach confirmed that Cook would resume the captaincy for the fifth game of this series, which dealt with the mischievous suggestion that England may stumble across a successful formula without him. But, as Moores said: ‘We’re still trying to identify our best team.’
The awkward truth is that it may not include the man earmarked to lead England at the World Cup.