The stunning partnership between Sunrisers Hyderabad‘s opening pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow has dominated the 2019 season of the Indian Premier League so far and Eoin Morgan can’t help but liken their unlikely alliance with another that produced startling results over a decade ago.
The southpaw has watched as his England team-mate has forged a fruitful relationship between the wickets with Australia’s Warner and sees parallels with the partnership Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney enjoyed at Manchester United despite being involved in an ugly incident at Euro 2008.
After England’s last tour of Australia in 2017-18 which was marred by accusations of sledging, Warner and Bairstow were certainly known to have their differences but Morgan maintains that their ability to put those aside and flourish for their franchise isn’t surprising.
“The two of them are team-mates for the moment but that is the beauty of playing franchise cricket,” Morgan told ESPNcricinfo. “You do get to rub shoulders with guys you never thought you’d play with.
“Thinking about it since in different sports, in football it happens all the time. Compare Portugal’s game where Ronaldo got Wayne Rooney sent off [at Euro 2008], and had to go back and play for Manchester United two weeks later. It’s trickier circumstances, but I’m sure Jonny is learning a huge amount from other guys that he’s rubbing shoulders with.”
After putting up a 185-run stand for the first wicket in a comprehensive victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, Bairstow and Warner have now notched up a combined tally of 452 runs in three matches. The pair lead the run-scoring chart, Warner topping it with 254 runs followed by Bairstow’s 198.
Morgan, who went unsold in this year’s IPL auction, insists that the ECB’s relaxed policy towards franchise cricket has been justified by the performances of England players in recent editions.
“In the last three or four years it’s been a huge step forward for us,” Morgan said. “We’ve not only had a lot of guys in demand for IPL teams, we’ve had guys go out and be contenders for MVP of the tournament, and that says a huge amount about the cricketers we are producing and the guys going out there with aspirations. It really does raise the standard of our own game within the international team.”
