World Cup 2019 | Finalising the final 15-man squad will be tough, says Eoin Morgan

England continued their winning run in ODI cricket after a high-scoring thriller in the second ODI against Pakistan, where they won the contest by 12 runs. After a scintillating ton from Jos Buttler, English bowlers did well to snatch a win in the high-scoring game.  

After naming the preliminary squad for the World Cup earlier, England have picked a 17-man squad for the series against Pakistan. The performance in this series will pave way for the final squad, especially for the bowlers, which is set to be announced on May 21. Jofra Archer bowled well in the first game but was rested in the second to give David Willey a go. Willey grabbed the opportunity with both hands and impressed with the ball, especially in the death overs. Eoin Morgan has stated that finalising the final 15-man England squad for the upcoming World Cup would be a tough job.

"I thought he bowled beautifully, even when he came back in the middle. He normally bowls a couple more up front when it swings a bit more but today it didn't actually swing that much, maybe for six or seven balls. I thought all of the bowlers, including Dave, who were put under the pump when we couldn't take wickets throughout that whole 30 over period, were brilliant. They reacted really well."

Morgan also admitted that the competition is pushing the English bowlers to do well and expressed grief over the two players who will be missing out from the current squad.  

"They're all pushing each other. It's a bit like our batting unit the last two or three years. Guys who come in and do well have missed out. Unfortunately, a couple of guys from this 17 will miss out and it's going to be a tough decision regardless of how they perform in the rest of this series because of what they've contributed over a long period of time."

The two players who are likely to miss out would be Tom Curran and Chris Jordan, who are yet to play a game in this series. Willey and Liam Plunkett have been in the side for a while and have immense experience to do well under the pump. 

"For the last four years, David Willey and Liam Plunkett in particular have reacted really well to being put under pressure. You ask them to do more and they respond really well. They probably don't get the praise that they should or that other guys get. But the more responsibility we've given them, they've reacted really well."

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