Andy Pakes looks at the emergence of Australia's James Pattinson and compares him to his England-capped brother Darren.
Sam Holloway looks at why test match cricket is not going to become extinct just yet
Manraj Bahra looks at the subtle differences between the forms of cricket and how teams shouldn't look to pick the same players in all forms.
Sports Editor James Tompkinson looks at the continuing problem of corruption within cricket as the cases of three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot fixing comes to an end
Now I’m hoping that Geoff Miller and co are waiting to hear The Yorker’s stance on who should replace Collingwood, and that my views will sway them into opting to go with Morgan this time around. Quite simply, I believe that Eoin Morgan is the most naturally talented cricketer to play for England since Kevin Pietersen arrived on the scene in 2004. The Dublin born left-hander has become a prominent part of England’s ODI team, and now has to be the right time to bring him into the test set up. A scintillating 193 against Sri Lanka for the England Lions this week should have sent a timely reminder to the England selectors that Morgan is a naturally gifted player, and also that he has the right temperament to build long innings and play patiently when he needs to.
So what is it about Morgan that makes him such a good player? If you look at his current test match average, it is below 30 and therefore you would think that he wouldn’t be an ideal candidate for England’s middle order, but the way in which Morgan plays means that you can’t look at averages and statistics and make an accurate judgement about his talent. He is an inventive player who can engineer shots that normal players could only dream of trying to pull off, and therefore he is one of the most difficult batsmen to bowl at in World Cricket.
Another thing about Morgan that makes him ideal to bat at number 6 is his ability to bat with the lower order batsmen and guide the tail through the latter stages of an innings. His stand of over 200 with Samit Patel in the England Lions game this week illustrates this point perfectly, and someone like Morgan can give England another 50 to 100 runs in a test match, which could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat in a close match.
Now I’m not saying that Bopara and Hildreth are bad players who aren’t up to the standard needed to play for England, because they are both very good players who have proved their worth in county cricket over a number of years. However, when looking for a talismanic, stand out player, Morgan definitely is the best option, and in my opinion, it would be a big mistake on the part of the selectors if they don’t place him in the squad tomorrow.
I'd pick Morgan too, looks like a great player, and beautiful to watch too! As long as he backs his natural talent up with mental toughness. Natural talent alone is never enough to make a great batsman - Ian Bell over the years should have scored far more runs than he has, but always seems to get out at the worst time. Hopefully Morgan will be more successful!
You must log in to submit a comment.
Report