BACK IN THE RUNNING
EOIN MORGAN will not have to worry about dropping himself anytime soon after he got England off to another fast ODI start in Sri Lanka.
Morgan produced a quality captain’s innings of 92 to help beat both the Sri Lankans and the rain.
And with Warwickshire pace star Olly Stone, dubbed ‘Enzo’ by team-mates after being likened to a Ferrari, starting his jet-fuelled career by topping 90 miles per hour and taking his first wicket in international cricket, this was a good day for England.
When the monsoon rain arrived midway through the Sri Lankan innings they could not recover from losing five wickets to get up balance is often difficult, especially when the pressure to perform is so high and results so vital.
And it seems likely that both sides in London today will have a run-heavy gameplan.
It certainly nearly worked for Seattle last week in their close defeat to the unbeaten LA Rams.
The Seahawks ran for 190 yards against the Super Bowl favourites – just REVERSE GEARS: Eoin Morgan reverse sweeps on his way to 92 to parity on their Duckworth-Lewis target resulting in a 31-run defeat. “Professional sport is not safe,” said Morgan at the suggestion he was now undroppable after the pre-match talk of whether he should step aside for the benefit of the team in next year’s home World Cup.
“Don’t be a pro if you want to play it safe. I felt terrible to start, I had a really bad 20 minutes and nearly ran Joe Root out but I got past that and felt more comfortable.”
Morgan has developed a habit of turning up at the start of a series with three of his last five ODI hundreds coming in the first match.
And he was only eight runs short before Lasith Malinga took centre stage with 5-44 thanks to a collection of slower balls.
“It is a good thing to be able to perform at the start of a series,” he added. “But it is not by chance, I am eight yards shy of their total gained throwing the ball.
And Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin – who had just one catch last week – knows he has to get open if he is going to break that dependence on the run.
He said: “I just look at it as another opportunity. I’ve got to go out there and do my job and get open and if the ball comes to me, it comes to me. That’s working hard to get runs every game. But at the start of the series it’s about trying to wrestle momentum because if you can do that it goes a long way particularly in a five-match series.”
For the most part it was the senior players who stepped up to the mark with Root and Jos Buttler making contributions with the bat and Chris Woakes doing the same with the ball.
But as good as Woakes’ 3-26 from his five overs were, it was the sight of his county team-mate Stone sending down high-velocity rockets that will have got England players and supporters excited.
A replacement for Liam Plunkett, Stone showed that not only can he be a wicket-taker at this level – he unsettled Niroshan Dickwella and had him caught behind to claim his maiden scalp – but he can do so bowling fast and with hostility.
Morgan added: “Olly bowled exactly like he has in the nets – with pace – that’s a really good sign.
“He got the ball moving and it was all done with a very calm head.” really what it comes down to. I’m not worried about it. I’ve got to focus on my job and do the best I can with the opportunities that I get.”
Seahawks boss Pete Carroll said: “We only completed 13 passes last week in a real productive offensive day.
“Doug is one of our best players and he’s been a great performer for a long time. There’s nothing to change that thought at all.” FOCUSED: Baldwin