EOIN Morgan admits England will start the Royal London Series against West Indies with “angst” hanging over their one-day international credentials after their Champions Trophy semi-final exit to Pakistan.
Morgan’s 50-over specialists have not played together since they were shocked by the tournament winners in Cardiff in mid-June.
It was a chastening result which left a question mark over plans for the 2019 World Cup and – as England completed preparations for a five-match series against the Windies, starting at Old Trafford today – Morgan acknowledged they have a point to prove.
“We probably felt we weren’t good enough to get through to the final, so there is a little bit of angst there in the will to produce a significant performance throughout this series,” he said.
There are potential high-profile sideshows in the offing over the next two weeks too, with Ben Stokes back after his one-match break in Saturday’s Twenty20 setback to face old adversary Marlon Samuels.
The pair have locked horns just once, in England’s ICC World Twenty20 final defeat, since the 2015 Test series in the Caribbean during which Samuels mocked the fiery England all-rounder by raising a salute to him after he was caught in the deep in Grenada.
Morgan insists he has “no worries” about any confrontations escalating between the pair – even with Stokes one more misdemeanour away from a possible International Cricket Council ban at the start of this winter’s Ashes.
The Irishman admits, however, that England must show they have addressed issues of consistency as they look to restate their ODI standing.
“We’re not quite there yet,” he added. “Guys are striving to improve... (but) we still have a long way to go. We were beaten quite convincingly [against Pakistan], and there was a lot to learn from it.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here