Married Plunkett out to prove he’s still best man
LIAM PLUNKETT does not regret putting his wedding before an England tour — even though he knows he has allowed Olly Stone and Tom Curran to stake a claim in Sri Lanka for his World Cup place. Plunkett missed the first three one-day internationals because of a clash with his marriage to American fiancee Emeleah once the Sri Lankans switched the tour itinerary to schedule white-ball cricket first. Now he is in Kandy and was in contention for this morning’s fourth game at the Pallekele Stadium after preparing for the trip in an indoor baseball centre in Pennsylvania near his new wife’s family home. ‘We were so far into the wedding preparations that a lot of people had booked flights from America,’ said Plunkett, who was married in the Cotswolds on the day of the second game. ‘I wasn’t interested in paying them back! I spoke to Eoin Morgan and the hierarchy and they encouraged me to go ahead with the wedding but in the back of your mind you know someone else will come in and do well. That’s sport. England know what I can bring.’ The 33-year-old Plunkett has been a key one-day performer over the last two years and added: ‘It’s nice to have credit in the bank but if someone else comes in and takes four or five wickets it’s hard to say no to them.’ Plunkett ended up preparing for this tour during a six week stay in West Chester, 30 minutes from Philadelphia, ahead of his wedding — bowling at cut out baseball hitters. ‘The mannequins were shaped like they were going to hit me out of the park!’ said Plunkett. ‘I got some stumps from a local club and I could practise.’ Not that his new American in-laws find it easy to appreciate his skills. ‘They do try but the way they say stuff like “your outs” and “your pitching” means they still don’t get it,’ he said.