Eoin Morgan: The Hundred offers chance for T20 World Cup selection

England's white-ball captain says the 100-ball competition offers a route into the squad for the United Arab Emirates

Eoin Morgan will be keeping an eye on performances in The Hundred as he whittles down the names for England's T20 World Cup squad.

Though warm-up matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh precede the tournament in the United Arab Emirates in October and November, opportunities to assess international white-ball performances are over for another summer.

While the new 100-ball competition, which gets underway for the men on July 22, is largely made up of domestic players and just 18 overseas stars, talent being condensed across just eight teams should ensure quality is high.

Despite having an established team - with Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer still to return - Morgan says The Hundred represents an opportunity to stake a claim.

"We want as many options as possible," said Morgan, who has previously touted Sussex's Tymal Mills for selection. "I think Tymal is injured at the moment, and I don’t know how long for. 

"We are continually monitoring different guys, there are certain players we look at that that could have avenues in. Guys that do things differently, left-armers, guys that bowl at pace or have a huge impact on the game, predominantly hit boundaries with the bat. 

"There are still opportunities for guys to do that in the Hundred, and have an outside chance." 

^{Malan recorded four single-figure scores in six innings}

Few have enhanced their prospects like Liam Livingstone, who scored 199 runs across the white-ball summer including a maiden international century against Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

"Liam is a guy we have wanted to find more out about," added Morgan on the Lancashire star, who also claimed two wickets with the ball. "He’s certainly grown in stature. Probably in the last year or so, with his involvement in and around the group. 

"When guys haven’t had opportunities for a number of years, having been involved for a short period of time, we look at them in particular how they come back in, have they improved certain things? I think Liam has improved a huge amount and would say that himself. Other guys like Saqib Mahmood have done the exact same."

It has been a less than ideal period for Dawid Malan, however, who averaged just 20 in his six innings this summer. But Morgan is not about to jettison the ICC's No.1 T20 batter.

"I see him as playing a big role in our team," he added. Massively. Just because he’s had a quiet series doesn’t mean to say he’s not a good player. He’s done exceptional things for us over a long period of time. 

"He’s a guy that can take time and can go through the gears whereas actually, the majority of our team and the majority of our batting XI can’t. So when the scores are a little bit lower, he doesn’t have to push himself as much as he normally does or has done in an England shirt to date."