Eoin Morgan: I can still contribute to a World Cup win

Questions have been raised about the form and fitness of England's white-ball skipper but although keen to manage his workload this summer, Morgan has no intention of stepping down before the 2022 T20 World Cup

England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan believes he can still contribute to a World Cup win despite concerns about his form and fitness.

The 35-year-old injured his right quad during England’s tour of the Caribbean in January and suffered a groin strain in the T20 Blast for Middlesex.

With the bat, meanwhile, he has scored just 180 runs in 18 T20I innings since the beginning of 2021, posting a high-score of 40 against Sri Lanka at the 2021 T20 World Cup.

However, while admitting it’s too early to make a decision on England’s 50-over title defence in 2023, Morgan has no intention of stepping down before the T20 World Cup in Australia this autumn.

"That's a long way away," he said. "I need to get to the T20 one first. I'm going to take it as it comes, managing my contribution, my body.

^{Morgan suffered a groin strain while representing Middlesex in the T20 Blast [Alex Davidson/Getty Images}]

"Am I still contributing on and off the field, within the team? I will be as honest as I [have been] with everybody since I started the captaincy. At the moment, I still feel like I contribute and still feel like I can contribute to a World Cup win. That's an important drive for me."

New head coach, Matthew Mott, has also thrown his support behind the skipper, stating: "He always says he wants to be picked as a batter in that team on form and merit all the way through and when he feels that's not the case then he would step aside. I think that's a long way off being at that point."

Morgan does intend to manage his workload this summer, with England due to play 12 white-ball matches against India and South Africa in July. They are currently in the Netherlands for a three-match ODI series.

"It's unlikely I will be playing every game this summer," he said. "But that's purely dependent on how I get from here to that match. If I'm flying and everything is going well, absolutely, but if not, there is no need to try and replicate that for a World Cup because it just doesn't happen [in ICC events]."