Morgan lays down the gauntlet for T20 World Cup claims
EOIN Morgan dismissed any notion of England’s one-day international series against India being an anti-climax as he challenged those on the periphery of the white-ball sides to use the experience to push their T20 World Cup claims.
A lot of attention has been on the Test and T20 assignments of a seven-week tour which will conclude on Sunday after the last of three ODIs in a series where Jofra Archer, Joe Root and Chris Woakes are highprofile absentees.
Moeen Ali was conspicuously unused in each of the five T20s as India exposed one or two flaws in England’s set-up to claim a 3-2 victory and burnish their credentials ahead of the global tournament they are hosting this year.
But the off-spinning all-rounder, alongside the likes of Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone and Reece Topley, may come into the reckoning in Pune this week, and Morgan insists the matches will be a useful exercise.
Asked whether those on the margins can put themselves in the frame for a squad place at the World Cup, Morgan replied: “Absolutely. Given the squads are very similar, we see both skill sets as very valuable.
“Playing any international cricket is a huge opportunity for guys who have been here on the fringes and not made selection so far. We see the 50-over format between the two T20 World Cups as a building block for our squad.
“It has been an extremely productive tour so far. The biggest picture is always the World Cup in both white-ball formats. You don’t always have to win every series in order to win a World Cup.
“You continuously need to get better, need to be tested as a side, need to fail in order to learn. That involves losing, which isn’t fun but it is part of the journey.”