Morgan raring to go against Australia after month on sidelines

Rory Dollard 09:13 31/08/2015
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  • Back in action: Morgan.

    Some sportsmen swear there is no substitute for match practice but England Twenty20 captain Eoin Morgan believes he is “twice the man” he was before an unscheduled month off.

    Morgan will lead the Three Lions out in today’s one-off Twenty20 International against Australia at Cardiff having not played competitively since August 1.

    After a run of poor form for Middlesex – the Dubliner averaged 26 in the shortest format, 10.16 in first-class cricket and just 6.66 in the Royal London Cup – he was granted a break by the county.

    Having led England’s ill-fated World Cup campaign Down Under before travelling to the Indian Premier League, it was decided time away from the game would be more beneficial than continuing his losing battle against form and fatigue.

    It is an unsual way for an England skipper to lead in to a match against the old enemy but Morgan believes it was just what he needed.

    He found a sympathetic ear in Middlesex director of cricket Gus Fraser, though his role as an England selector might also have played a part.

    “I was the one who brought it up. I sat down with Gus and discussed the pros and cons of it,” said Morgan. “To start with Gus was very understanding and brilliant in the way he managed it, because he said the priority was English cricket.

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    “That is a tough decision to deal with as a director of a county team. I can’t imagine there are many county directors that would have taken English cricket as a priority over possibly Championship or one-day games.

    “But we talked about the benefits of it and, sitting here now, I’m probably twice the man I was a month ago because of the schedule, the hectic nature of it, the amount of cricket we play and the very little time off.”

    Morgan was initially slated to miss three one-day games and one County Championship fixture but he ultimately sat out another of each.

    “It started with two-weeks off and then we decided, would playing one game before the one-day series make much of a difference?” he explained.

    “I said no, I haven’t played for two weeks and another two weeks off would be ideal, to be honest. I feel really fresh now. My attitude, my mind, my body is a lot better than it was a month ago. I’m raring to go.”

    Coming after the drama of England’s 3-2 Ashes victory and before a five-match ODI series, a standalone T20 match could appear to the orphan of the international summer. But in reality neither side can afford to treat it as anything other than crucial learning time with the World Twenty20 coming in March.

    England have just seven matches in the format before that, and five before they are due to name their squad for the tournament.

    Having exited the previous edition in the group stages and bowed out with an embarrassing defeat to Holland, Morgan is charged with delivering much better this time.

    Part of the rationale for appointing Trevor Bayliss as head coach was his limited-overs expertise and Morgan confirmed that white-ball cricket was now being moved to the front of the agenda – despite tricky Test assignments against Pakistan and South Africa around the corner this winter.

    “Our priority now turns to the T20 World Cup and driving our one-day cricket forward,” he said.

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