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ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY

May 31, 2017

Eoin Morgan

The Oval, London

Approved by Tim

Q. First of all, fitness update: Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, fit to take full part in training? Are they all clear to play, and if so, does Ben Stokes take on full bowling responsibilities, too?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, Chris Woakes is 100 per cent fit. Has come through the last two or three days really well.

Ben Stokes has had a little bowl today. We will see how he pulls up tomorrow to see how much he will bowl. But I certainly see him bowling.

Q. Also selection issues, one issue that people have been talking about is Jason Roy and whether Jonny Bairstow maybe has a shot at playing. Has a decision been made on that?
EOIN MORGAN: The decision remains the same throughout the tournament. Jason Roy is part of our strong opening partnership with Alex Hales. He'll definitely play.

Q. And Jonny Bairstow?
EOIN MORGAN: He will miss out unfortunately. It's been the case like that for the last couple of years. He's been very good when he's come in, but each and every one of us within the batting department has had ups and downs over the years. And one of the strongest parts of reinforcing the way that we play and the freedom in which we play with is backing that up with selection.

Q. So if it was the case that if perhaps Jason didn't fire in the first couple of games, would you look again, or have you decided: This is our team, this is the way we're going to go for the tournament.
EOIN MORGAN: I cannot see it changing.

Q. So if I can just ask, as well, obviously you won the series against South Africa. The defeat and the manner of the defeat, do you look back and think actually that was quite welcome; that could serve as a bit of a wake-up call for a team that's been used to racking up sort of 300 --
EOIN MORGAN: If you're looking for positives out of it, absolutely. It certainly was a wake-up call in the fact that you need to be able to adapt in different circumstances. When you play against one of the better sides in the world, you can be susceptible to things like that happening in given conditions.

Q. How much do you need to guard against any sort of complacency? We saw Bangladesh lose heavily here yesterday, as well, and you're a team in good form, but how important is it to get off to that good start?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it's very important, particularly given that this competition is very unforgiving. You pretty much need to win every game in order to guarantee a good run throughout the tournament, and I think that's exciting within itself.

We need to bring our A Game if we're going to win this trophy. If at the end of it, we are holding the trophy, I think we'll have played really well.

Q. The Champions Trophy has a bit of a chequered history, the ICC has tried to dump it a couple of times, and people mix it up with the World Cup. How important is it to England and this team to perform?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it's really important. We're not very fortunate enough to play in tri-series where you're exposed to must-win games.

I suppose the Champions Trophy, the beauty of it is that whoever does win the trophy has thoroughly deserved it. Because like I've mentioned, you can be knocked out and I suppose mistakes can be taken advantage of; and limiting those mistakes, and I suppose focusing on your strengths as a side, is a very important part of winning it.

Q. There's a real vote of confidence for Jason. You must rate him highly. Is part of your thinking in that series against New Zealand when you had lift-off, he didn't get that many, but he was playing the way you wanted him to play and he came through that and became an important member of the side?
EOIN MORGAN: Absolutely. I think if you're looking at familiar circumstances pre-T20 World Cup, in a very similar case. He hadn't gotten runs in a warm-up game against New Zealand, and then was a huge part of us getting to the final of that T20 tournament.

If we want our players to play cagey or without freedom, yes, we would change things and probably half of us wouldn't be here. So backing it up with selection and the way that we want to play, you know, Jason really epitomises the way that we play; the aggression in which he plays, he always plays for the team, and he plays in a manner that is dictated with that. He's a very important part of our side.

Q. Just going back to Ben, would you be prepared to play him as a batsman only if he's not fit to bowl?
EOIN MORGAN: Absolutely. It's a very strange injury in that it's only in his delivery stride that he feels the pain. So if given he couldn't bowl, I still think he'd make great contributions with the bat and in the field.

Q. And you've got the World Cup here in two years' time. Do you think this side is still some way from its peak and fulfilling its potential?
EOIN MORGAN: I think we have a long way to go. I think realistically if we need to be contenders for the World Cup, we need to get our world ranking up. We need to play -- I suppose you really need a squad of players playing the majority of the games between now and then to gain experience.

If you look at the strongest sides in the world that get to the latter stages of a World Cup, I think the average cap in a side is about -- it's around a hundred. So all of our guys would have to play the majority of those games in order to be serious contenders, and if things go well, I think we're in a good position to do that.

Q. Virat Kohli obviously played quite a lot of cricket against you in the winter and suggested that this England team doesn't have any weaknesses. Do you think that's mind games or do you think he's speaking from the heart?
EOIN MORGAN: Last night he told me that we needed to change our game in front of everybody, so had a bit of a laugh about it. Again, it's a compliment. I'll take it as a compliment. You know, somebody like that saying something complimentary about your team, you have to take it in that regard.

Q. And I just wondered, as well, whether in the past couple of years, obviously you talked much more about the performance than the results, and now you're in the tournament and the results are the only thing that really matters. Are you getting that home to the players?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, absolutely. It's about delivering in every game. It been our focus now for the last couple of series that we've played in, like I mentioned before, the first cycle of our development in the first year that we were together was about pushing the limits and see how far we can go.

Combining that, the second year was about playing smart cricket, adapting to situations and taking advantage of that, and then the result will look after itself.

Now it's time to combine all three.

Q. You speak regularly about pushing the limits and playing aggressively. Do you have to keep reminding the players to do that, or is it now so embedded in their DNA that they do it anyway?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it is embedded. I think it's just the way that we play. We don't necessarily have to speak about the manner in which we go about it. We're always looking to get on the front foot, taking advantage of any mistake the opposition makes or a weakness we feel that they are exposed to.

Q. How do you look back on the journey that you've been on since that night in Adelaide, and obviously some symmetry, as well, a low moment, getting beaten by Bangladesh and opening tournament on home soil against the same opposition?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, probably since then, we've been on a huge upward curve, and we've been tremendously lucky in the fact that we've been -- we have had a group of players that have bought into a way of playing and enjoyed it, and executed extremely well.

At no stage have we second-guessed ourselves or the direction that we're going in, and that's very powerful as a group I think.

And from my side of things, I think it's been an absolute pleasure to work with this group of players and have such a great backroom staff and have the backing of that, as well.

Q. The last two times you played against Bangladesh in an ICC event, both times your team lost. Tomorrow, will that be on your mind, and are you out to take revenge about those two losses?
EOIN MORGAN: I think recent form you have to take into account. The last time we played them obviously was home series for Bangladesh, and we know how strong they are at home. I think that was the first time that they were beaten in five series at home.

So we take a lot of confidence from that. We know they are a strong team, and this is their first Champions Trophy, so that comes with an element of pressure, as well. Tomorrow is a big day for everybody. We are really looking forward to it.

Q. I asked you about that game in Adelaide 15 months ago, seems a hell of a long time ago now, do you use the memory of that as any kind of motivation going into not just this tournament but in the 15-months since?
EOIN MORGAN: There's a lot of motivation that drives I suppose us to train better and train harder. Personally that's not one I use. I know a lot of the guys were involved in the T20 World Cup -- against the West Indies in India. That's certainly a driving force behind the hard work that we put in. Obviously a gentle reminder that you never win a game until the last ball is bowled.

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