Let’s show we mean business and can make waves at major international tournaments, says England skipper Eoin Morgan
Skipper Eoin Morgan has urged his England side to prove during the one-day series with Sri Lanka that they are contenders for the major 50-over competitions to be staged on home soil in the coming years.
England and Wales are the host nations for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and the 2019 World Cup, while the latest tranche of their preparation begins on Tuesday with the first one-day international at Trent Bridge.
Morgan’s side have received much praise for their white-ball renaissance since a disastrous World Cup campaign in 2015, although they have lost as many 50-over series as they have won in the intervening period, unpredictability which Morgan wants eradicating.
“We’re still at the beginning of building hopefully what will be a successful campaign in the 2019 World Cup,” said Morgan, who led England to the World Twenty20 final in April.
“I think it’s important for us not only to stick with the same group of players in order to grow their experience over a period of time but also trying to find some consistency in our performances is very important.
“If you look at where we sit in the ICC rankings we’re actually below Sri Lanka and that’s a reflection of our performances over the last number of years.”
A knee injury to all-rounder Ben Stokes leaves England, who lead the inaugural Super Series with Sri Lanka 10-2 after their Test success, with a conundrum to solve, while in-form batsman Jonny Bairstow is pushing for a place in the starting XI.