What if Wednesday | What if Eoin Morgan did not make the switch to England
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On July 14, 2019, Eoin Morgan established his name amongst the pantheon of all-time English greats when he helped his side lift the first-ever World Cup trophy in their history. But what if Morgan, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, never made the switch to England back in 2009?
Eoin Morgan, who was considered to be Dublinâs prodigal son, made his ODI debut at the age of just 20 and went on to play 23 ODIs for the nation, including representing them in the 2007 World Cup. However, owing to him owning an English passport, Morgan, in 2009, at the age of 23, made the switch to England. It was a controversial decision that did not go down well with many, but he did eventually realize his dream of playing Test cricket. And oh, he led England to their first-ever World Cup title too, if that matters at all. But what if Morgan never made the switch to England? What if he had stayed back and decided to continue with his country of birth, Ireland? Well, letâs go back in time and find out. Â
The date is April 6, 2009, and Morgan, who has just scored back-to-back fifties against Scotland and Canada, has fended off the temptation to make a potential switch to England. Mind you, at this point of time, Ireland have played and won all of their first four matches in the Qualifiers for the 2011 World Cup, but still would need to get through the Super Eight stages and then win the tournament to seal a spot in the global extravaganza. Morgan carries on his good run and scores three more fifties in the tournament as the quartet of him, William Porterfield and the O'Brien brothers power Ireland into the World Cup as they convincingly beat Canada by 9 wickets in the final.Â
Meanwhile, another 23-year-old, Gary Wilson, after a rough start to his ODI career, has also found his feet at the international level and is making inroads at the top of the order. The emergence of Paul Stirling has meant that the Irish have their top order set, in the form of Porterfield, Sterling and Wilson. The Irish are set and raring to go for the 2011 World Cup but just days before the tournament, the board drops a bombshell: Eoin Morgan has been named the new ODI skipper. But much to everyoneâs surprise, there are no ripples created within the team. In fact, the entire team, including Porterfield himself, are fully supportive of the decision and feel that Morgan is the right man to take the team forward. And so they enter the 2011 World Cup as this unknown, high-spirited entity that no one knows what to expect of.Â
They fall narrowly short of upsetting the home team Bangladesh in the first match, but BOOOOM, against all odds, they down favourites and arch-rivals England in the second, chasing a 328, thanks to skipper Morganâs 85-ball century. A masterclass from Gary Wilson against the Windies and a clinical performance against the Netherlands means that they now find themselves in the quarter-final, edging the Windies on NRR. Their opponents in the quarters? Pakistan. And we all know, history, especially in sports, has a funny way of repeating itself, doesnât it? Well, thatâs exactly what happens. Ireland repeated their heroics from 2007 and upset Pakistan to become the party-poopers (ie: stop an India-Pakistan affair). Their fairytale run is, however, is cut-short by India. The hosts chased down Irelandâs 167 for the loss of just two wickets in the semis to end Irelandâs campaign, but by now, Morgan and his Irish boys have earnt a lot of plaudits. Sadly, though, much to their disappointment, even a semi-final showing in the World Cup is not enough to make the ICC fast track them being granted Test status.Â
But the implications of Eoin Morganâs ânon-switchâ extends beyond the coast of Ireland. 411 miles away from Dublin, Ed Joyce, who has been frozen out of Englandâs ODI setup and is now playing for Sussex, is desperately contemplating making a move back to his birth nation, Ireland. There is a problem for him, though. Ireland, in the form of Porterfield-Sterling-Wilson, have an impregnable top three. And so Joyce decides to stay back. And that turns out to be the best decision of his career as after his 1269-run season in division 1 in the 2011 Championship, he finally gets another English call-up. This time though, itâs his preferred format - Test cricket. In his first Test at the Lordâs against the Lankans, he gets a pair but bounces back in the second with a gritty 85 at the Rose Bowl. He soon becomes the second-fastest Englishman to get to 1000 Test runs at home, marginally behind James Taylor. But wait, where did James Taylor come from?
Owais Shahâs withering form meant that England were in dire need of finding an able middle-order batsman and they, interestingly, decided to gamble with a 19-year-old James Taylor who amassed 1184 runs at an average over 65 for Leicestershire in the second division in the 2009 season. But Taylor wasnât the only young talent that the âThree Lionsâ unearthed in 2009. Post the retirement of Andrew Flintoff, after multiple failed attempts to replace the all-rounder, England finally sought solace in the form of an 18-year-old James Vince. And boy didnât it turn out to be a masterstroke. Vince ended the 2009 Champions Trophy, his first major ICC tournament, as the highest run-getter for England with 364 runs in just 5 matches, including an unbeaten 128* against Australia in the semis, to propel them into the final. But his 56 in the final went in vain as New Zealand convincingly beat England by 46 runs to claim their first-ever title.Â
But as good a team England were in ODIs and Tests, they just were not able to dominate T20s. After crashing out of the group stages for three years in a row - 2009, 2010 and 2012 - the side were humiliated by a second-string Indian pace attack, in late 2012. The Indian pace duo of Ashok Dinda and Parvinder Awana wreaked havoc to inflict a whitewash on the English and thus, in turn, sealing a permanent place for themselves in the Indian side. The emergence of Awana and resurgence of Dinda meant bad news for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who could not get a look into the side despite knocking on the door continuously. Â
Back to Dublin, the year is now 2015 and the goal ahead for the Irish is clear: finish in the top two of the ICC Intercontinental Cup and get Test status. By now, to go along with the threat of Morgan, the OâBriens and Porterfield, they have the run-machine Andrew Balbirnie and the young George Dockrell. Everything seems perfect for four matches, but in their fifth, they are handed a reality check - an innings defeat at the hands of Afghanistan. A draw in the penultimate game of the competition means that they face a do-or-die encounter versus the Scottish in Dubai. A decade of hustle and bustle to earn the right to play Test cricket comes down to just one game.Â
And the big game starts off for them in the worst possible manner - first, Dockrell tweaks his knee just before the game and then, they lose both Porterfield and Sterling in the very first over. At 1-2 in the first over of the biggest game in Irelandâs history, in walks skipper Eoin Morgan. The moment Morgan had been dreaming of throughout his life, ever since he was a child, is right in front of his eyes. He, with his bat, now has the chance to seal Test status for his country and well, no prizes for guessing, he does just that. Morganâs 182 in the first innings combined with debutant Simi Singhâs match haul of 8/120 secures an innings victory for Ireland, but most importantly, Test status.Â
The year is 2019 and the fear of three million Irish people has come true - their best player is in England, playing Test cricket. Only this time, he is leading the side at Lordâs, as they gear up to play their first-ever Test.Â
