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Morgan’s decision is understandable, but a gamble
- Updated: September 12, 2016
It is a shame Eoin Morgan isn’t going to Bangladesh.
It’s a shame he won’t be able to test the progress of his side against the team that defeated it (again) in the World Cup. It’s a shame that England’s development could be jeopardised by a change of leadership and the loss of an experienced player. It’s a shame Bangladesh cricket lovers won’t be able to see him play. And, most of all, it’s a shame that those who seek to change the way we live with their threats and intimidation have had a minor win.
But who knows what promises he made to himself – or those closest to him – after previous scares? And who can say better than him whether he would be able to give the focus required to succeed at the top level with the security distractions on his mind? Many of us go to Bangladesh – with tanks on our doorstep and snipers on our roof – with trepidation. And none of us have returned safely yet. Perhaps we should hold the conclusions over the wisdom of this tour?
Morgan has always been very much his own man. It takes a certain courage to go against the flow and make a decision like this. The same sort of bloody-minded determination to do things his way that has helped reinvent England into an uncompromisingly aggressive limited-overs team despite a tradition of caution and percentage cricket.
Since he took over as captain just ahead of the 2015 World Cup, England’s white-ball cricket has improved markedly. Yes, that tournament was gruesome for England, but he was dealt something of a hospital pass taking over less than two months before the tournament. Since June 2015, he has played a huge role in the emergence of a new side that has played with greater confidence and aggression and won 17 and lost 10 in ODI cricket.
If that sounds modest, it is worth remembering how awful they were before then: in the previous 12 months they had won seven (including victories against Scotland and Afghanistan) and lost 16. They have lost only one ODI this English summer – and that with the series against Pakistan already won – and go into the 2017 Champions Trophy with confidence justifiably high. Morgan deserves a great deal of the credit for that.
The decision does his long-term England prospects no good, though. If his replacement does well – and there is no reason the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett and Sam Billings will …
