Captain’s family offended by reaction to tour decision

Eoin Morgan has revealed his family were “very offended” by suggestions he let England down by declining to tour Bangladesh on safety grounds.

The England and Wales Cricket Board determined that security in the country was sufficient for the series to take place safely in October but invited individual players to make their own decision following terror attacks earlier in the year.

Only one-day captain Morgan and opening batsman Alex Hales declined to travel, leaving ECB managing director Andrew Strauss “disappointed”.

But reactions were stronger than that elsewhere. While many supported the pair for acting on their concerns, others suggested that Morgan, as skipper, had shown a lack of leadership.

Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain were among the most prominent critics, suggesting Morgan’s standpoint was incompatible with his role as figurehead of the side, though they were not alone among the British media response.

Morgan is back on duty for the forthcoming limited-overs series against India and will today lead the side out against India A in Mumbai.

Asked how he felt about the coverage of his decision, Morgan said: “To be honest, I didn’t see much of it. When things are announced like that, you can plan how to deal with it, and my way of dealing with it was to get away from things.

“So I didn’t see a great deal of it. I think my family saw a lot of it and were very offended, but that’s part and parcel of being in the limelight sometimes. I don’t regret the decision.

“When I made the decision, I considered all the consequences and I felt very comfortable with the decision.”

Eoin Morgan: back to lead England today.