Rejuvenated England will only reach new heights in post-Eoin Morgan era

For over the past seven years, Eoin Morgan’s England have redefined what people initially thought could be possible in ODI cricket. Yet, perhaps the only weak link in recent times England could have had was their leader’s presence in the playing XI. The statistics, which never lie, highlight that the 35-year-old only had a solitary half-century in his first 48 innings across the international and domestic circuits (26 for England, 22 for the others). This includes his back-to-back ducks against the Netherlands in the recent ODI series. Hence, for his dubious form, he is all set to retire from international cricket officially on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at Lord’s.

Between the two World Cups from 2015 and 2019, Morgan led England to win 16 out of 20 bilateral ODI series win. Perhaps with some luck in their favour, they carried the momentum by earning the badge of world champions in the 50-over format for the first time. Now, he is set to call time as their leading run-getter of all time in both ODIs and T20Is. Notably, no one has represented England more than him in limited-overs cricket.

225 Matches | 6,957 Runs

Eoin Morgan in T20Is (for England):

With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia later this year, Morgan is expected to pass the baton to Jos Buttler, whom he labelled ‘the best white-ball cricketer in the world’ two weeks ago. Echoing what Michael Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special on Monday, ‘it is exactly the right time for him (Morgan) to step aside.’ Under Morgan, England’s intensity in attacking the bowlers from the beginning of an innings, helped them break the highest ODI team total three times, with the most recent in making 498/4 against the Netherlands. Now, the time has come for pushing the boundaries even further.

Unlike the Test setup, where Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had to face plenty of challenges to roar back, Buttler – Morgan’s potential successor – does not need much to worry about. For ODIs, they have two highly volatile openers in Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, followed by Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, and Buttler himself to form a batting unit that can seek inspiration from a legion of followers. For T20Is, on the other hand, Buttler will promote himself at the top to open with Roy, and the rest of the batting order will go one place down.

With the likes of Philip Salt and  Sam Billings as covers and now in Morgan’s absence Alex Hales could be recalled, no batting unit across the world looks more ruthless than England’s at present.

Like the Irishman’s formula, England, under Buttler and the limited-overs head coach Matthew Mott, will continue to bat deep in the post-Morgan era. Even in the recent Netherlands ODI series, they used David Willey, who can easily be regarded as a genuine all-rounder and can open T20 innings if required, at No. 10. Willey’s 23.56 average in the 50-over format also suggests he can be a clutch player with the bat at crucial junctures.  

The biggest challenge Buttler will face at the helm is to form a reliable fast-bowling unit which can adapt to different conditions. At least for some time being, England’s spin department is sorted with the presence of Adil Rashid and the multi-tasking Livingstone. But had Jofra Archer not been ruled out for the season due to a stress fracture to the lower back, the scenario could have been different. 

To support Archer, England have Reece Topley and Willey at present for the audition. With a 39-year-old James Anderson and a 36-year-old Stuart Broad – England’s two most wicket-takers in Tests – no longer participating in the limited-overs cricket, the likes of Mark Wood, Chris Jordan, and Chris Woakes must step up with alacrity to get the much-anticipated T20 World Cup glory which they secured back in 2010 under Paul Collingwood.

Can Buttler replicate in Australia what Collingwood did 12 years ago? Well, only time will tell that. However, it can be easily said that England, with Morgan’s retirement, are now clear favourites to win the next edition on paper. The above statement is not for disrespecting someone who has build a legacy, but for a potent unit that boasts of having more match-winners than anyone else. Under Morgan, they have learnt how the limited-overs cricket should be played, and now they will only go upwards and onwards.