Eoin Morgan proves his importance while seamers remain the final puzzle | Ali Martin

England’s ODI series against Sri Lanka brought a confident Adil Rashid, a football-related injury and one key lesson: don’t play in Sri Lanka in OctoberEoin Morgan began the tour by saying he would be prepared to drop himself during next summer’s World Cup if his form was flatlining. But by the end of the series win – England’s ninth in a row – the captain’s importance was again underlined beyond just his batting (which after regaining some stillness at the crease, was the best on tour with 195 runs). Leaving himself out of the 219-run DLS hammering in Colombo was probably a bit too funky. Dead-rubbers may afford experimentation but why unbalance the team? And if a batsman really did have to make way, why not switch Joe Root’s thoughts to the Test series early? But what it did do was demonstrate what the players have been saying for a while: when the ball is travelling to all parts, Morgan’s icy demeanour holds things together more often than not. In the sapping humidity, England lost their cool too easily and bickered away for what was their sloppiest fielding display for some time. Morgan’s stand-in, Jos Buttler, has stepped up well in the past. But having struggled a touch behind the stumps on tour, and gone into the match short of time at the crease, he could probably have done without it in this instance. Continue reading…
Via: Eoin Morgan proves his importance while seamers remain the final puzzle | Ali Martin