Eoin Morgan will tell England to stay true to themselves as they aim at World Cup glory

SIMON HUGHES: Morgan's underlying philosophy is to 'trust your instinct'. It might sound like psychobabble but it is a way of deflecting pressure off yourself, relaxing and allowing your biorhythms to flow

morganhughes290501

“Trust yourself, believe in yourself and go out and enjoy it.” Those will be Eoin Morgan’s parting words - or similar - before the England team head out onto the field at The Oval on Thursday morning to embark on their World Cup mission.

Morgan’s underlying philosophy is to ‘trust your instinct’. It might sound like psychobabble but it is a way of deflecting pressure off yourself, relaxing and allowing your biorhythms to flow. 

Some people are just able to do that more naturally than others. Morgan is a prime example. He has had it there latently all along. He took the brave step of coming to England when he was 15 and signing for Middlesex a year later. That was in 2003. I met him that year, playing in a benefit match for John Emburey at Chesham CC.

We chatted in the clubhouse for a while. He was small and quietly spoken. He said he had an ambition to play for England. Admirable, I thought, but I was doubtful as I watched him cautiously prod and squirt a few singles against some respectable club bowlers. 

Suddenly he opened his flimsy-looking shoulders and launched a good length ball miles over the longest boundary at long on and into some large beech trees. It came from nowhere. It was so fluid and yet apparently effortless. A couple of other, less spectacular, boundaries later the match was won, Morgan 20 odd not out, shuffling modestly back into the pavilion. 

morganhughes290502

Eoin Morgan took inspiration from Brendon McCullum

That little innings has characterised his career. He seems to know, instinctively, when is the right time, and how to attack. Failure or pressure or expectation don’t seem to affect him. He exudes a calm certainty of purpose. He is quietly uncompromising. Some sportsman just have this mentality coursing through their veins. MS Dhoni has it. Lionel Messi too. Jos Buttler is an embryonic version of these men. Nothing fazes them. They don’t countenance failure. They deliver when it counts. They are ruthless, cold blooded assassins. 

Psychologists draw a parallel with these sportsmen and psychopaths.

Paddy Upton, the mental coach who has worked with both the India and South Africa cricket teams and is currently head coach of the Rajasthan Royals identifies certain aspects of these ‘mentally-tough’ players.

"They have a massive belief in self and one's ability," he says. "Also emotional control; clear thinking under pressure; ruthless pursuit of goals; operate well in chaos; not intimidated by others; unaffected by loss and failure."

"In fact," says Upton. "These are all traits of psychopaths."

VISIT OUR WORLD CUP PORTAL: Your one-stop shop for the summer spectacular

Morgan has always known what he wants. There have been setbacks, of course, but he seems to handle the vicissitudes of his life with extraordinary equanimity. He has had important allies. He has spoken at length about how vital Andrew Strauss’s overall trust was in him. As crucial was the influence of New Zealand’s captain Brendon McCullum, whom he first met at the IPL.

Their bond gradually grew closer around the time Morgan was given the England ODI reins after the 2015 World Cup.  

McCullum brought his World Cup runners-up  to England that summer. Predictably they played an entertaining, enterprising brand of cricket. I spoke to McCullum early on in that Test series.

“You know that feeling you used to have as a kid when you’d wake up in the morning and open the curtains and be excepted because you were playing cricket today,” he said. “I’m trying to bring that spirit into our team, into our way of playing.” 

It was contagious. It reinforced Morgan’s own thinking about the way he wanted England to play.

morganhughes290503

Jason Roy embodies England's ODI style

“New Zealand embodied playing fun cricket. Playing against them we were a wee bit jealous,” Morgan has said.

When it came to the one-dayers, Morgan’s message was to ‘shoot the lights out.’ No backwards steps. “Look at Baz’s body language, always extremely positive, on the front foot,” Morgan says. 

The selection of Jason Roy in that side was pivotal. He was a convert to the Morgan/McCullum philosophy. He tried to put it into practice in the first ODI, essaying an expansive drive to the very first ball of the match. He was caught at cover. Nought. But the team were true to Morgan’s word.

They attacked and kept on attacking. They made 408 that day, comfortably England’s highest one-day score at the time. They have never looked back. Neither has Roy despite his first-ball duck. And Morgan and McCullum are bosom pals with a shared love of horse racing and golf as well as attacking cricket. McCullum even spoke at Morgan’s recent wedding. England are infused with the Kiwi spirit of adventure. 

The former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith, now a commentator, followed the All Blacks around the last rugby world cup staged in the UK.

He talks on the Analyst World Cup podcast about how they dealt with the expectation of being favourites.

“They stuck together, kept everything very tight. Didn’t allow everything external to affect them,” Smith says. Morgan’s team are attempting to do the same. That explains why Alex Hales was jettisoned by universal vote. 

McCullum’s motto at the last World Cup was ‘dare to dream.’ It almost worked. Morgan’s will be ‘trust yourself and don’t look back.’ Its the best way to deal with vertigo.

If England enjoy breathing the rarefied air like their captain, they’ll conquer that mountain.

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Pre-order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk

Comments

LATEST NEWS

STAY UP TO DATE Sign up to our newsletter...
SIGN UP

Thank You! Thank you for subscribing!

Units 7-8, 35-37 High St, Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough, LE128PY

website@thecricketer.com

Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.