'There are serious ramifications to Morgan not touring Bangladesh'
Tuesday 13 September 2016 09:45, UK
Bob Willis says Eoin Morgan's decision not to tour Bangladesh could put his position as England white-ball captain in "severe jeopardy".
Morgan and Alex Hales are the only two players so far to have made themselves unavailable amid concerns over the safety of the tour, following July's terror attack in Dhaka.
Willis sympathises with both, but says he would have toured after England's players were given assurances over their safety.
"I absolutely would have toured," Willis told Sky Sports News HQ. "The ECB employ a full-time security advisor, Reg Dickason, who went out to Bangladesh and having spoken to the government and the cricket authorities said that it was ok for the tour to go ahead.
"As far as Morgan's one-day career goes, there are serious ramifications to him not touring, because you have to say that on current form there are better batsmen not in this England ODI side.
"If Jos Buttler now has a very successful one-day series as skipper, and the side does well - you'd expect them to beat Bangladesh - then Morgan's place may be in severe jeopardy.
"Morgan's pulled England out of the mire following the 2015 World Cup and got some very good results, but what credence the England management, the selectors and management will give to that remains to be seen.
"Yes, I have sympathy for him and Hales as it is not going to be a very pleasant environment for the team. It will be lively during the one-day series, but for the Tests there will be more armed police and army than there will be spectators in all likelihood - that's not the sort of atmosphere you want to be playing in.
England's squad for the Bangladesh tour is set to be announced on Friday, September 16, with the first ODI played on Friday, October 7 and Willis also spoke at length on some other key decision England will have to make.
Who opens instead of Hales?
"Unlike Morgan, Hales probably comes straight back into the one-day side for the India series after Christmas. He was obviously part of that record-breaking innings at Trent Bridge, with a magnificent 171.
"Ben Duckett, the Northamptonshire opener - and yet another wicketkeeper - could fill in in the interim and will likely be named for the T20 and ODI part of the tour.
"But I think we're set to see Hales and James Vince get a long rest from the Test match scene. I think it is very exciting that it looks like Lancashire's Haseeb Hameed seems set to take Hales' place at the top of the order.
"Another new opening partner for Alastair Cook since Andrew Strauss retired! There have been very good reports on this young man - he's a little bit like Gary Ballance, not the most exciting player to watch perhaps, but he is strong temperamentally."
Who else benefits?
"It's a huge opportunity and a great honour for Buttler to captain England. But it's also a huge burden on his shoulders.
"Remember Alec Stewart - keeping wicket, captaining and batting high up the order is a tough ask. Not as much as in a Test match perhaps, but still a lot for a wicket-keeper to be thinking about.
"If Buttler stumbles, and they decide not to go back to Morgan, Joe Root might find himself captaining the one-day side and T20 side. He is clearly the captain in waiting for the Test series when Cook decides to throw in the towel.
"Jonny Bairstow, meanwhile, will be keen to cement his spot in the one-day side, while Sam Billings is someone England are desperate to get into this side - he really has got all the T20 shots in the book, and can also keep wicket as well. Great competition for places!"
Who travels as England's third spinner?
"They like Liam Dawson, and Gareth Batty is certainly in the selectors thoughts. He nearly got picked for the UAE tour last year, though I'm not sure England's youth policy will stretch as far as at 39 years of age.
"Adil Rashid will become the number one spinner, with Moeen Ali supporting - they're clearly worried about his bowling, but not remotely about his batting.
"With the likely loss of Vince in the middle order, you can move the batting up one spot without weakening the side at all."
