Eoin Morgan prepared to give England T20 youngsters a chance
Friday 27 November 2015 09:42, UK
England captain Eoin Morgan wants to hand more youngsters T20 experience after Sam Billings' fantastic showing against Pakistan.
Billings' equal second-fastest England T20 international 50 lit up a 14-run victory, and his selection for the first match of three, along with debutant James Vince and the returning Liam Plunkett, were all handsomely vindicated as his side went 1-0 up.
Morgan found himself explaining the reasons why first-choice pair Jos Buttler and Joe Root were omitted, and he had no hesitation in citing a rare opportunity to test England's most talented young players.
On home soil the NatWest T20 Blast tournament operates alongside the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash, but both attract higher-profile international players.
At 19-3 after Morgan won the toss, England were wobbling but Vince's 41 set the stage for Billings (53) to race to his half-century in just 24 balls.
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"We want to see as much as we can of it," said Morgan, after Plunkett and Reece Topley had then taken three wickets each to bowl the hosts out for 146 in reply to 160-5.
"In county cricket, we just don't have a good enough tournament for guys to be exposed to it as often as we'd like.
"I think this is a good tour to expose as many guys as we can to it. If it means senior guys sit out, so be it."
Buttler was rested at the ground where he hit England's fastest-ever one-day international hundred just six days earlier, and he may have more time on his hands, even with two matches still to come quickly at the end of this tour.
"We're trying to expand the squad as much as we can," added Morgan. "For the benefit long term ... we'll probably see that more so throughout the series."
