Eoin Morgan: Places still up for grabs ahead of T20 World Cup

SAM DALLING: England's white-ball captained namechecked Tymal Mills as a possible late runner for a place in England's T20I plans

With the next T20 World Cup approaching rapidly, Eoin Morgan’s next big task will be to whittle scores of talented players down to a core.

Just a trio of games against Pakistan remains, with the two-match return series pencilled in for October coming so close to the start of the tournament – the first-round group stages will start within days of the Karachi trip ending, although England are not required until the Super 12s – the identity of the chosen few will be known already.

“A lot of positives,” said Morgan last night, reflecting on a straightforward series victory over Sri Lanka. “But we are not naïve: we know we need to improve in other areas that potentially weren’t tested in this series. But we will continue to work on them and assess them as much as we can.”

Fourteen men turned out for England over the last week; Liam Dawson left carrying the drinks. Of those absent, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are surely shoo-ins if fit, while Reece Topley impressed in a pair of ODIs in India earlier this year. Since England’s 2019 World Cup triumph, Pat Brown, Lewis Gregory, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Banton and Matt Parkinson have all debuted in white-ball cricket, while Joe Root has made no secret of his desire to be involved.

There are countless others loitering too, not least Alex Hales who has 2,842 T20 runs at an average touching 31 since the start of the 2019 T20 Blast. Joe Clarke, George Garton, Ben Duckett, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Will Jacks make up the next tier down. All that means there will be a few disappointed faces.

When Morgan was pressed on how many spots were realistically available, the expected answer was one or two. His answer, then, was somewhat surprising.

^{Moeen Ali was recalled for the final T20I of the series}

“It’s difficult to say because there are injuries,” he began. “If everybody was fit, I don’t think there are many nailed down. There’s probably half a dozen nailed down. We’re dealing with experienced guys within say the 17 or 18 that have been involved.”

And then he left the door ajar for latecomers, citing one man in particular as on his radar: “There are guys like Tymal Mills who could easily present a case. He is an outstanding bowler and we’ve always been in communication with him. We wanted him to get fit and play as much cricket as possible, so we have left him alone until the World Cup comes.

“Playing for Sussex – given the journey that he’s been on – on a regular basis, is way better for him than trying to get fit for sporadic T20 series through the year. He’s a good example, along with a few other guys, that could present a really strong case throughout The Hundred.

“I always say that guys can always present their best case if they’re playing good, competitive cricket. Looking at the squads in The Hundred, they’re extremely strong, so you’d expect the standard and pressure to be quite high throughout.”

Blessed with express pace, Mills has been less fortunate when it comes to injury. By the time he made his England T20 bow in 2016, he had retired from the first-class game due to a congenital back condition.

Mills starred in a three-match series against India at the start of 2017, claiming three wickets and going at just 7.25 runs an over. Three weeks later, he was snapped up for £1.4million by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL auction. A hamstring injury curtailed that stint, and he has not been sighted in an England shirt since. He has, though, turned out for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash, both Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United in the PSL, Balkh Legends in the Afghanistan Premier League and even for an ICC World XI against the West Indies.

Since the start of the 2020 Blast, Mills has taken 17 wickets and next month will join up with Southern Brave. Having spoken earlier this summer about his hopes of winning back an England spot, the glimmer may now be flickering.

^{Morgan namechecked Tymal Mills as a possible option for the T20 World Cup}

Quite what David Willey thinks is another question. For his part, he picked up three wickets against Sri Lanka, going for just 5.5 runs an over with the new ball across two games. Also recalled after time in the wilderness was Chris Woakes, who had been absent from the squad for almost six years. He too performed admirably, his seven overs going for just 23 runs, including England’s most economical T20I figures ever yesterday – 1 for 9 off four overs.

“They’ve presented extremely strong cases”, admitted Morgan. “Everything we’ve asked of them, they’ve achieved. It’s always difficult coming in when you’ve not been involved for a period of time – probably harder for Chris than Dave.

“Dave was involved [in the squad] last year – but there is a level pressure that comes with coming into a very strong side. I think both have taken their opportunity. They offer different things and both bowl with the new ball.”

England ease to clean-sweep but what did Morgan's men learn?

What the series did not test though was England’s death bowling. Three times Kusal Perera called correctly, but that was as good is it got. Batting first at Cardiff, Sir Lanka posted 129 for 7 and 111 for 7. Chasing at the Ageas Bowl yesterday, they were bundled out for 91. Unsure as to whether he will have a full squad to pick from next month against Pakistan, Morgan will look to use the ODIs to brush up his bowlers’ skills.

“The two most challenging parts of bowling are in the powerplay and at the death. The powerplay we’re making inroads with but at the death in this series, we haven’t been tested really – the wickets haven’t really allowed both sides to take advantage of those last four overs that are the hardest to bowl in the game.

“Throughout the season, we might see with the grounds that we shift to in some of the one-day games and maybe some of the T20 games, that bowlers come under more pressure, which is a good thing.”

One area that has been stress-tested is England’s opening combination. Game one saw Jos Buttler and Jason Roy start the innings, before Jonny Bairstow stepped up when the former hurt his calf. A hamstring strain forced Roy onto the sidelines meaning Dawid Malan joined Bairstow yesterday.

^{Dawid Malan made 76 in the third T20I}

It proved fruitful, the pair adding 105 in just 70 balls. It was England’s first century opening stand in T20Is since Michael Lumb and Alex Hales put on 111 against Australia at Chester-Le-Street in 2013. And it was the first since 2009 – Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright combining for 102 against the Netherland’s – not to feature Hales.

“With the one-dayers and the T20s coming up, I think the more curve balls we can be thrown the better,” said Morgan. “It’s not great that guys are injured but that presents opportunities for others. It (the team) has a real strong backbone if you have replacements for guys who are either injured or being rested or rotated.

“It has been a method that has worked really well [over the last four years]. Guys are on-board in the changing room:they know that there are limited opportunities to stake their claim so hopefully they can present their best case when possible.” 

Malan, after a typically watchful start – he had just 18 off 15 – finished with 76 off just 48 balls, taking a particular shining to Wanindu Hasaranga. His three overs of leg-spin, disappeared for 42 runs, having gone at just four an over in the previous two games.   

In no other walk of life would someone ranked as the world’s best be so frequently questioned. But professional sport is fickle. Yes, points-based ratings are imperfect, failing to take into account cricket’s nuances. Surely though the fastest man to 1,000 T20I runs, who now averages 47.39 in the format at a strike-rate of 143.04, and who has passed fifty a dozen times in 27 knocks has some credit in the bank? Morgan certainly believes so, defending Malan’s so-called dip – one half-century in seven innings – at the toss.  

Malan himself rightly queried afterwards whether it really was a lean patch as described. By way of comparison Jason Roy has gone 12 knocks without a half-century, Bairstow’s 51 yesterday ended an eight innings dry spell, Morgan has just one in 12 and Ben Stokes has never got there. Granted not all are like-for-like comparisons given respective batting positions, but they do illustrate the extra scrutiny Malan faces.

“He’s had a fine run in international cricket,” said Morgan of Malan. “It’s extremely difficult to keep up the run he’s had. The level of expectation has created is that he is always going to be there. He’s well aware of it. He knows that when he’s in the side we back him to the hilt – as we do every other play – and we give guys as long as they need to try and get back into form when they potentially could be a huge player for us. Opening the batting for him is probably his preferred position. He’s been class really.”