It is one thing to excel in sports and another to change the way a nation plays it. As Eoin Morgan ends his international career, he bows not only as a World Cup-winning captain, as England’s top scorer of the day and Twenty20 of all time, but also as the architect of a fundamental change in English cricket that can never happen. . vice versa. For his impact on the game in this country, Morgan is unmatched in his generation. The Irishman dragged the limited covers of England from the soft black and white to a glorious technical color. Under Morgan, England has broken the world record for the highest total in a single day on three occasions. Before becoming captain, England had gone 300 31 times to 633 ODI. Under his leadership, he was 53 out of 131. This was not just a radical improvement in results on the pitch, transforming a team uniform into world champions over four years, but it changed the whole attitude towards white ball cricket. How England won an incredible Cricket World Cup final Rightly or wrongly, the world has changed with the advent of franchise tournaments, international teams playing more limited overs and, with it, a style of play that affects the biggest forms. The English game used to tackle cricket limited overs, such as the parent changing the baby’s diaper – has to be done, so hold your nose and hope not to get your hands dirty. Morgan, backed by former cricket manager Andrew Strauss, had English cricket embrace the white ball game with open arms, perhaps even upsetting the balance too far, depending on your point of view. The result was a depth of talent, particularly explosive batters, that people envied. Morgan’s leadership style – supporting his players to the end and encouraging them to be aggressive regardless of the situation – is now bleeding in the England Test. The “Bazball” revolution under the new coach, and Morgan’s great companion, Brendon McCullum could easily become Morganball. Test leader Ben Stokes spoke of his desire to emulate Morgan. There were many others who described the 35-year-old as the best skipper they have ever played for, even when he was on probation under another leader. At a time when English cricket has struggled with diversity, Morgan embraced and celebrated the range of backgrounds from which his team came. After winning the World Cup, he revealed that Muslim spinner Adil Rashid had told him: “Allah was with us.” On the pitch he gave little, with his face often hidden behind sunglasses and a hat. Or even lots of hats – during the pandemic, Morgan was the game’s top hat stack. If a bowler was under pressure, one of the leader’s tricks was to take the ball away from him while he was talking to them, hoping that he would help with a rebound. Morgan the captain – not only England’s first World Cup winner with 50 overs, but only the great Indian MS Dhoni can meet the 72 T20 internationals as captain – overshadows Morgan the batter’s achievements. After making his Ireland debut at the age of 19, scoring 99 against Scotland before running out, Morgan was already a 23 ODI veteran when he first played for England in 2009. With seemingly double wrists sweeping, slaughtering and rocking the ball 360 degrees, he was a visitor from the future, playing shots that are commonplace now, but we did not imagine then. Morgan’s crowning achievement was the 2019 World Cup against Afghanistan, which endangered Old Trafford’s 17-man crowd, which is still the record for the most in an ODI season. His 13 tonnes for England are only being improved by Joe Root and 202 six are miles ahead of any of his teammates – almost 60 more than Jos Buttler. Part of the team that won the 2010 T20 World Cup, he was good enough to do two centuries in 16 Tests between 2010 and 2012, averaging 30.4, stacking well enough against most of the players England have tested. since then. Archive: See Morgan set a record of 17 sixes Morgan was part of the Strauss team that won the Ashes in Australia and climbed to the top of the world rankings. When Alastair Cook’s position as captain was threatened in 2014, Morgan was mentioned as a possible replacement. It is a decline with the bat and the creaking of an aged body that led to his retirement. England’s results did not pressure Morgan, but he only managed half a century in his last 26 appearances and admitted that the consecutive matches became a physical match. While leader Morgan still had the unwavering respect of his teammates, Morgan the batter struggled to contain the competition from a group of young actors. He was desperate for England to become a two-time world champion, adding the T20 crown to the 50 over title. He stole their chance in 2020 from the pandemic and they lost in the semifinals of the 2021 World Cup, when they were probably the best team in the tournament. Another incline to Australia later this year would be a suitable swan song – Tara’s wife is Australian – but it turned out to be a bridge too far. England will move on with new manager and new manager Matthew Mott, but Morgan’s influence will continue to live on. Hitting them will give them a scary prospect for anyone facing in Australia, but injuries have left the bowling alley sluggish. Defending the 50-over World Cup in India is just over a year away. As for Morgan, he will continue to play for London Spirit in The Hundred and is already immersed in the world of the expert. There will be franchises from all over the world that will collapse to hire him as a coach. Even if he does not achieve anything else in the game, deciding that he prefers to spend his time chasing his love of horse racing, his legacy is assured. Morgan created that memorable, incredible day at Lord’s in 2019, one of the greatest moments in the sporting history of this country. Only two other men – Sir Bobby Moore and Martin Johnson – have won a World Cup as England’s leaders in football and rugby respectively. Morgan sits next to them as the immortal of English sports.
