Morgan rues fielding lapses in Pakistan defeat

Eoin Morgan, who captained England to a thrilling One Day International World Cup success in 2019, said on Monday he was retiring from all forms of cricket.

The 36-year-old Ireland-born batsman had already called it a day in terms of international cricket last June when he stepped down as England ODI skipper.

Morgan captained England in a record 126 ODIs and 72 T20s. His 118 wins as skipper across the two formats is also a record.

He had gone on playing for London Spirit in The Hundred and then most recently South African outfit Paarl Royals in the SA20.

"It is with great pride that I am announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket," said Morgan.

"After much deliberation I believe that now is the right time to step away from the game that has given me so much over the years.

"From moving to England in 2005 to join Middlesex, right up to the very end, playing for Paarl Royals in SA20, I have cherished every moment."

Morgan said he had been fortunate to have had the chance to travel the globe.

"Thanks to cricket, I have been able to travel the world and meet incredible people, many of whom I have developed lifelong friendships with," he said.

"Playing for franchise teams across the globe has given me so many memories that I will hold on to forever."

Morgan played for Ireland, including at the 2007 World Cup, but was eligible to play for England through his English mother.

He went on to play 16 Tests for them but it was the shorter form of the game that was his real forte.

Morgan took charge of the T20 side in 2012 and one-day side in 2014 and was also part of the 2010 T20 World Cup-winning side.

Former England captain Eoin Morgan said winning the Cricket World Cup in India would be a bigger achievement than when he guided the side to victory at the 50-overs showpiece on home soil four years ago.

Morgan, who retired from international cricket last year, said white-ball captain Jos Buttler had not been given the same level of support in the build-up to this World Cup that England has had in the past.

"Between 2015 and 2019, our sole focus was trying to win the ODI World Cup at home," Morgan wrote in a column on Sky Sports on Tuesday. "There was a clear emphasis on having your best players available in the year leading up and trying to get absolute role clarity in every position possible.

"Jos has not had that."

While England are the reigning champions in both the ODI and Twenty20 versions of the World Cup, Morgan said there had been a switch in focus to the longer format of the game.

"There has been a complete change in mindset in English cricket where test cricket is now the out-and-out priority," he said.

"Only on very few occasions in Twenty20 internationals and ODIs has Jos had his best side available. This has been an Ashes year, a huge year for Ben Stokes and his red-ball team."

Morgan added that the reduced support for white-ball cricket, coupled with the challenge of playing a tournament in unfamiliar conditions, meant this year's World Cup is a more challenging prospect for England.

"All things considered, it would without a doubt be a bigger achievement for England to win this World Cup than when we won in 2019," Morgan said.

"The nature of the schedule has not allowed them to have the type of preparation they would like and being away from home, especially in India where India are so strong, is tough.

"Winning here would carry a lot more weight than winning at home."

England begin their World Cup defence when they take on New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Skipper Eoin Morgan said England's batting collapse in the third Twenty20 international was their worst performance in recent times after India inflicted a crushing defeat in the series decider in Bangalore.

Chasing 203 for victory, England's much-vaunted batting line-up imploded on Wednesday night, losing their last eight wickets for eight runs after being well set to push for victory.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's Twenty20 best of six for 25 combined with Jasprit Bumrah's three wickets ripped through the English middle and lower order, with five batsmen being dismissed without scoring.

"I can't put my finger on it. We haven't produced a batting performance as bad as that in two and a half years," Morgan told reporters at Bangalore's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

"We pride ourselves on our batting and it's been our strong suit for a long time but our bowlers have outperformed our batters."

Since their meek exit in the group stage of the 2015 World Cup, England have been a team transformed in short-form cricket and reached the final of the World Twenty20 last year under Morgan's captaincy.

Their batting line-up is seen as their great strength, with some of the most powerful hitters in the game.

But after reaching 119 for two, England suffered a stunning collapse with Chahal taking the wickets of Morgan (40) and Joe Root (42) off consecutive deliveries.

'Cardinal sin'

The 26-year-old spinner, playing his sixth Twenty20 international, took another three wickets in his fourth over.

"We committed the cardinal sin of losing two in players in one over and the allowed India to build pressure. We weren't up to it at all. It's really disappointing," said Morgan.

"Take your hat off to India. They played well and put in a performance worthy of winning the series. We weren't good enough to win this series."

The defeat capped a miserable period in India for England, who lost the five-Test series 4-0 last year and went down 2-1 in both the subsequent one-day internationals and the Twenty20s this year.

England coach Trevor Bayliss acknowledged the team's inability to handle world-class spin, but insisted the visitors played "some pretty good cricket" at times during the ODI and Twenty20 series.

"We are certainly not world-class players of spin. We are mainly a young group making their way in international cricket," Bayliss told the BBC.

"Bit disappointing in the way we finished our series there, certainly doesn't reflect the type of cricket we've played here."

England are scheduled to tour West Indies for a three-match one-day international series next month ahead of hosting of the 50-over eight-team Champions Trophy in June.

The Expert Opinion  ||     from ABDUR RAZZAK    ||

At this moment, I have to say Shakib Al Hasan is the most in-form all-rounder in the world.

He is in very good touch with his bowling and his batting has been brilliant at this ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

He made another century in the win over the West Indies, his second of this tournament with two other half-centuries.

He is the number one all-rounder in the ICC rankings as well and he is in tremendous form.

In fact, I have never seen him play like this – the consistency he is showing is incredible. I have played with him many times over the years but this is the best form of his career.

That was a very good win for Bangladesh against the West Indies because they are a very, very good side – they’ve played really good cricket in this World Cup.

For Bangladesh it was a crucial game because if they lost or even it rained, then they wouldn’t have had a great chance to go through to the semi-finals.

It’s really, really important to start quickly, especially in England. If you start well, either bowling or batting, most of the time those teams win – we’ve seen that at this World Cup.

We started well with the ball by getting Chris Gayle out early and that was important.

When West Indies scored 300+, I heard from quite a few people saying ‘Bangladesh will lose this game’. But I told them just wait and see.

I know the ground at Taunton, I’ve played over there, and on a wicket which wasn’t seaming they had a chance. It was a batter’s wicket and at Taunton, 320 isn’t an easy target but it isn’t that hard either.

They started well with the bat and then Shakib and Liton Das did brilliantly to put on that 189-run partnership and see them over the line.

It’s really difficult coming into the team in the middle of this type of tournament, so Liton Das was definitely under pressure.

When a new player comes to play in a big game, in a big tournament, with this type of atmosphere, it is really tough.

It was a pressure moment and he coped very nicely. He showed what he can do as a player and it’s exciting for Bangladeshi cricket.

Bangladesh had confidence from their recent record against the West Indies, which is now eight wins in the last ten ODIs.

They’ve beaten them in the West Indies, in Ireland and in Bangladesh as well. If you keep beating any team consistently then it’s really, really confidence-boosting.

When they were set 320, the boys would have still felt they were going to win the game because they know they can do it against the West Indies.

Importantly, their chances of reaching the semi-finals are still alive. Each and every game is so important because if you lose one now, it will be really difficult to go through.

This one was crucial and the game against Australia at Trent Bridge on Thursday is the same but this confidence will help them and carry over to that clash.

They will believe they can beat anyone because they are playing really good cricket.

Bangladesh reached the quarter-finals at the 2015 World Cup and then the semi-finals at the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 – they’ve done really well at recent big tournaments – but I honestly believe they are playing even better than that at the moment.

Eoin Morgan’s 10th one-day international century provided the batting foundation while seamers Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes took four wickets each as England defeated the West Indies by 45 runs in the series opener on Friday.

Extending an excellent run of form from the previous ODI series in India in January, the England captain stroked a polished 107 to pace the tourists to a competitive 296 for six.

Plunkett and Woakes then claimed four wickets each to thwart the home side’s effort for an upset victory.

Half-centuries by Jason Mohammed and Jonathan Carter were not enough as the West Indies were dismissed for 251 in the 48th over, Plunkett taking the final wicket to finish with his best ODI figures of four for 40.

Woakes, who did the early damage to the Caribbean side’s batting, returned with four for 47.

"It was tough at the start out there but the rewards eventually came by sticking it out," said Morgan.

"I thought it was a dominant performance overall by us and we’ve set a high standard for the remaining two matches."

Accelerating from a painstaking start, Morgan timed the innings to perfection in lifting his team to a competitive total after they were put in to bat on a rain-interrupted morning at North Sound.

He faced 116 deliveries and struck 11 fours and two sixes after coming to the crease with his side in early trouble after fast bowler Shannon Gabriel removed opening batsman Jason Roy and new Test skipper Joe Root in successive overs.

Sam Billings contributed 52 at the top of the order, but his demise to Ashley Nurse was compounded when the off-spinner also accounted for Jos Buttler via an excellent slip catch by Carter.

That dismissal brought in Ben Stokes and the aggressive all-rounder did not disappoint, belting 55 off 61 deliveries with three sixes and seizing the initiative from the West Indies with a 110-run fifth-wicket partnership, ended by a catch at long-on off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.

Morgan reached three figures in fine style, hoisting Carlos Brathwaite for a huge six over midwicket in the 48th over before the bowler had the last laugh, running out the left-hander in the final over of the innings.

Woakes and Plunkett reduced the West Indies to 39 for three in reply before Mohammed featured in successive half-century partnerships with Shai Hope and Carter to keep the hosts in with a fighting chance heading into the final ten overs.

However, England’s perseverance paid off and when Mohammed was run out for a top score of 72 in the 42nd over, the die was cast for the West Indies despite a few bold hits by Carlos Brathwaite and Ashley Nurse.

“I thought we competed well throughout the match but just too many wickets to soft dismissals,” said West Indies captain Jason Holder.

“This is no time to drop our heads because we are encouraged by this effort and need to come back even stronger on Sunday.”