Eoin Morgan: England playing catch-up in one-day cricket
Tuesday 9 June 2015 12:29, UK
Eoin Morgan admits England have "fallen behind by a long way" in one-day cricket but is determined to catch up quickly - starting in the Royal London Series against New Zealand.
England's tactics in the 50-over format were shown to be outdated at the World Cup earlier this year as they embarrassingly failed to reach the last eight.
However, from the humiliation has come the acceptance that a more attacking approach, certainly while batting, is the way to go.
To that end, big-hitters Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes are expected to feature in a new-look side for the first of five ODIs against the Kiwis at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Morgan said: "We want to be unclouded in the way that we play and put opposition sides under pressure as much as we can.
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"For a long time now, we've been behind the eight-ball in one-day cricket and we've fallen behind by a long way, and it's time for a catch-up.
"It still might take a little bit of time but certainly I can get my views across, things can be a lot clearer and I'll certainly be involved in selection so I've got the squad that I've wanted."
Roy and Stokes were overlooked for the World Cup while Hales only played in the last two matches.
But Morgan is now urging those men, as well as other inexperienced players in the squad such as left-arm seamer David Willey and paceman Mark Wood, to grab their chance with both hands.
"I'm excited to see them play, I'm excited to see them take the opportunity that presents itself over the course of the series," added Morgan.
"We struggled throughout the World Cup... simply because we didn't perform well enough. The guys we have brought in do something different and we want that to continue. If they play as well as they have done in county cricket things will be very exciting."
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is looking forward to seeing how England compete over the course of the series.
The last time the sides met was at the World Cup, when McCullum's 25-ball 77 propelled the Black Caps to a thumping victory with 226 deliveries to spare.
But McCullum believes this England side will be a different proposition.
"I think it's an exciting squad that they've picked," he said. "It's obviously a little bit raw but it's full of talented players and guys who are pretty aggressive with both bat and ball. I'm sure they'll be excited about this series.
"They look like a team that is wanting to play some aggressive cricket.
"England have got some really dangerous players and judging by the comments coming out of their camp they're looking forward to branching out a little bit.
"The Test matches were played in great spirit and I'm sure this will be the same.
"Both teams will relish the opportunity to pit their skills against the other."
Watch England v New Zealand live on Sky Sports 2HD from 1.30pm on Tuesday.
