Melbourne: Eoin Morgan’s third duck in four innings leaves England travelling to Melbourne with the captain’s form their major worry as they prepare to face Australia on Saturday. The four-wicket defeat by Pakistan in their final warm-up match was of less relevance than the dismissal of Morgan, who must now try to rediscover his touch in a World Cup opener played at a Melbourne Cricket Ground full of baying Australia fans.
For England to have any chance of reaching the latter stages of this tournament, it is vital that Morgan starts scoring runs. They do not have a talent pool big enough to make up for their best batsman being out of nick. It had been hoped that his century here last month was a sign that Morgan had turned the corner after a poor 2014.
Since then, however, he has faced just 18 balls and been dismissed for 0, 2, 0 and 0. For the second successive match, he found a soft way to get out. After being bowled leaving a straight ball from Mitchell Johnson in his previous innings, here he opted for a premeditated reverse paddle to his third delivery from leg-spinner Yasir Shah which he guided to slip.
It suggests a muddled mind, with Morgan not giving himself enough time at the crease to know if he is still in touch. Joe Root, who top-scored for England with 85, defended his captain, sounding eerily familiar to many other players in recent months when talking about Alastair Cook.
“He scored a hundred not long ago. He is obviously a fine player, a fine leader and one thing he has always done is, when the pressure is on and we are up against it, he has put in big performances,” Root said. “There is no bigger stage than Saturday and I’m sure he is looking forward to -getting out there and putting on a show.”
It was only a practice match that did not even have List A status, so will not appear in any record books, but it did expose worrying weaknesses. They never quite had the aggression at the crease to make the 300 they threatened through Gary Ballance’s well-crafted 57 and Root. Their bowlers then could not capitalise on strikes with the new ball by Broad and Anderson. It was all too easy for Pakistan in the final few overs of their run chase.
England have just two wins from their last 15 ODI encounters Down Under, but Morgan resolutely talked up his team’s chances Thursday against the top-ranked Aussies.
“This is only in the last year, these (losses) have happened but the majority of us have been in positions where we’ve played series where we’ve beaten Australia 4-0 before,” Morgan told reporters.
“We have guys with huge amounts of experience who have won consecutive Ashes series ... again, reinforcing what works is key and emphasising, producing your skill on the day is ultimately what is important.
“It’s swings and roundabouts. We’ve been in that position before and our time will come.”
Morgan said only two squad members Moeen Ali and James Taylor have yet to play in an ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and he is hoping the big-match experience will bring out the best in England.
“I think the first two games we’ll learn a lot about them because they’re going to be tough games,” Morgan said of the pool games against Australia and New Zealand in Wellington.
“The vibe around the camp is of a free-spirited one.
“And I think that suits the players and hopefully that will allow them to go out and play in the manner which has got them to being selected.”
- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2015 (With inputs from agencies)
