Cricket Comment: Morgan fitness would be best result of week
FOR the sake of putting their Ashes nightmare behind them it’s important that England complete a one-day series victory in the West Indies today, yet there are bigger issues at play.
For as much as they’ll be desperate to win, they can’t afford to take any risks with the fitness of batsman Eoin Morgan if they have any ambitions at the looming World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
Morgan missed the first two one-dayers with a knee injury and if there are any doubts over his fitness he should sit out the decider. I’m sure England know that and there’s every chance he will.
He and Jos Buttler are the two flair players in that batting line-up and England simply cannot expect to be competitive on the subcontinent later this month without them.
There are signs Ashley Giles’s men are moving in the right direction. They looked in a good position in the first match only for Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy to swing it the home side’s way, but England were far better in the second match.
Of the newcomers, Lancashire’s Stephen Parry impressed, taking 3-32. Broad has also done well as skipper. It may not have been solely his decision but choosing Joe Root, who took 2-15, to open the bowling was a smart tactical move.
Another triumph today will mean the momentum is firmly behind England going into the T20 series. A defeat, however, would send them back to square one.
Andy Lloyd is a former England Test cricketer. He has also served as captain and chairman of Warwickshire.