ICC World T20: Eoin Morgan hails England's 'freedom' with the bat
'We will take plenty of positives from win over South Africa'
Friday 18 March 2016 20:05, UK
England's win over South Africa at the World T20 showed the blueprint for how they should approach their batting, says captain Eoin Morgan.
Joe Root (83 from 44) and Jason Roy (43 from 17) played vital knocks as England overhauled the Proteas 229-4, completing the highest successful run chase in the World T20 and the second best in the history of T20Is.
Root and Jos Buttler (21 from 14) shared a stand of 75 from 36 balls, after Roy and Alex Hales (17 from 7) had biffed 48 for the first wicket inside three overs.
"I felt we would have to play out of our skin to chase it down - and we did just that," said Morgan, whose charges reached 230-8 with two balls to spare.
"We have a lot of talent within our group and I think the best way for us to play is the way we played tonight [Friday] - with freedom, regardless of the situation.
"That is the best solution for us - there is a lot of continuity with the messages we bring to our squad and that is certainly one of them.
Live ICC World T20 Cricket
"We will take a lot of positives from tonight. We executed very well with the bat - Hales and Roy were outstanding - and finished well with the ball.
"But the period in the first six overs, where bowlers are asked a lot of questions by batsmen and players are scoring at a good clip, you have to be inventive and as savvy as you can."
Moeen Ali (2-34) and Adil Rashid (1-35) were the only England bowlers to go at under 10 runs per over, while South Africa spinner Imran Tahir (1-28) was the one player on his side with a single-figure economy.
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis was gracious in defeat but left to rue the 20 wides and six leg byes his attack shipped as they began their World T20 campaign with a two-wicket loss.
"We have played this game for long enough to know any score is chaseable," said Du Plessis. "That was the message to our bowlers.
"We needed to start with intensity and get one or two wickets up front but we didn't do that. There were way too many extras, which cost us in a close game, so that is one thing I would pinpoint - it was a little bit too much."
Live ICC World T20 Cricket
