England captain Eoin Morgan hails strength in depth after dramatic T20 series win against Pakistan

Eoin Morgan helped England snatch a dramatic 2-1 T20 series win over Pakistan at Old Trafford on Tuesday
Eoin Morgan helped England snatch a dramatic 2-1 T20 series win over Pakistan at Old Trafford on Tuesday

Captain Eoin Morgan has praised England’s strength in depth after his side’s T20 series win against Pakistan on Tuesday.

England beat Pakistan by three wickets on an exhilarating night at Old Trafford to secure a 2-1 series win. Jason Roy proved the highlight with an excellent 64 in pursuit of Pakistan’s 154-6.

Needing 61 from nine overs, England appeared to be cruising but some slow scoring from Dawid Malan and a middle-order collapse saw the equation change to a much more arduous 39 from four overs.

Captain Morgan, who hit 21 off 12 balls but holed out in the last over, was not too dismayed by the drama, however.

“It means a huge amount,” he told Sky Sports after the game.

“I think the style which we play naturally and the game which we’re best at, I think this is the worst possible wicket that we could actually apply it on so today is a very proud day for us.”

England found the spinning wicket hard to score on and, other than Roy, the batsmen struggled to accelerate at their normal pace.

Morgan added: “On a spinning, slow wicket, managing to win a game against a very good side – we’re always looking to push the boundaries, become a better side, and today we learned a huge amount.”

Morgan believes pitches at the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman later this year will offer more assistance to England’s batsmen.

“I genuinely don’t think the ball will spin like that in the UAE, having played a full IPL season there last year,” he said.

“It didn’t turn anywhere near as much as that so it’s fantastic preparation for a batsman but also the balance of the side, how that might look on a spinning surface.”

The Malan Conundrum

One thing that might have become clearer for Morgan and the coaching staff is Malan’s place in the XI.

It has been the subject of much debate since he came into the side, and it would appear his slow scoring rate and poor form, coupled with Liam Livingstone’s emergence, might have put paid to his chances.

While his 31 from 33 made him England’s highest scorer after Roy, he struggled to score freely. His strike rate has declined to 93.94 and he tends to eat up too many balls in the crucial power-play overs.

England look strong going into the World Cup in a few months time, but as Morgan himself asserted, he has got some tough calls to make regarding the final 15.