Eoin Morgan says England’s defeat to New Zealand in 2015 World Cup ‘rock-bottom’ for him
Written by News on 02/07/2019
Eoin Morgan admitted England’s punishing defeat to New Zealand in their last World Cup meeting four years ago was “as close to rock-bottom as I’ve been”.
Bowled out for 123, England’s pitiful total was overhauled in 12.2 overs by the Kiwis, whose approach to the game in reaching the 2015 final was the blueprint for Morgan to lead a radical transformation of his side.
On the eve of the teams’ next World Cup encounter, Morgan said: “It was as close to rock-bottom as I’ve been. Certainly as a captain and as a player, being beaten off the park like that was humiliating.
“New Zealand proved a point that you can actually be really good humans and grow the game and play cricket in your own way and win at the same time, which is incredibly eye-opening for a lot of countries around the world.
“I thought that rubbed off on everybody in the World Cup.”
Morgan also confirmed Jason Roy and Jofra Archer will feature for a crunch fixture England must win in order to guarantee their place in the semi-finals.
Roy’s return from a hamstring tear after three games on the sidelines was a notable boost for England against India on Sunday, though he did not field after bruising his arm.
Morgan said: “He’s good, he’s going to be fit for tomorrow’s game.”
As for Archer, who has been managing a niggle in the last couple of fixtures, Morgan added: “He’s pulled up really well and should be fit to play.”
England were nearing the point of no return after back-to-back defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia but Morgan has been impressed by their response.
He said: “It was clear after the Australia game there was a huge amount of disappointment in the changing room and we’ve been able to turn that around, identified where we’re at and identified what we need to do in order to progress to the semis.”
England have preferred to chase in their one-day resurgence so it was notable Morgan decided to bat first against India at Edgbaston, a decision that was rewarded with a 31-run victory on Sunday.
Morgan added: “Just accepting that the wickets haven’t been as good as they have been in the last four years has changed that.
“I think every wicket that we’ve played on so far has been tougher to bat on in the second innings, regardless of whether we’ve won or not.”
Watch every game of the Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports, continuing with England vs New Zealand from 10am, Wednesday on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup.
(c) Sky News 2019: Eoin Morgan says England’s defeat to New Zealand in 2015 World Cup ‘rock-bottom’ for him
