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ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY

June 5, 2017

Eoin Morgan

Cardiff Wales Stadium, Cardiff

Q. Have you got an idea of your team for tomorrow's game, and what are your plans in terms of that?
EOIN MORGAN: We don't. Probably even less so than ever because the wickets been under the covers probably since late last night. And I reckon it will continue to be throughout the day.

What looked like a reasonably good pitch yesterday, an extra 24 hours under the hot, sweaty cover might change things in the morning. But we'll just have to wait and see how it turns up.

Q. Are you looking at changes in -- obviously you've got to make one change with Chris Woakes -- but are you looking at personnel or the balance of the team?
EOIN MORGAN: Both, I think. I think the match-up against New Zealand will affect the team that we select. And, again, I think if the wicket is as fair as we hope it's going to be, we'll go on the match-up against New Zealand as opposed to conditions. Conditions should be set fair, hopefully.

Q. On previous occasions here, one of the big reasons that you've gone for one spinner is because of the short straight boundaries. Is that still the case -- do you envisage playing just the one spinner here?
EOIN MORGAN: It depends how sweaty the pitch is in the morning. If it's -- like there's normally a lot of grass here, not necessarily green grass, quite a thatchy feel to the wicket. You have to weigh that up really. I think against New Zealand is the only factor. I'll think about it for another 24 hours.

Q. You can pretty much book a semifinal spot here if it goes well, but you've got all this sort of security stuff going on off the pitch. After what happened in London, does that play on the mind at all? Can you leave that off the pitch?
EOIN MORGAN: I think we can. I think we sort of proved that in Leeds after what happened in Manchester. Obviously the guys are chatting about it constantly because it's not very far from where we stayed. And obviously a lot of us live near to where it happened. So we're always constantly talking about it, making sure everybody feels that they can talk about it and not necessarily hide away from it.

Q. Is that the best way, do you think, to deal with it, to not shut it off, but if someone wants to talk about it, to listen to them?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it is, yeah. We certainly sort of facilitate guys that feel that they need to talk about it or have any concerns, certainly go and chat to our head of security.

Q. Have there been any practical differences in security arrangements since Saturday, day to-day, hour to hour?
EOIN MORGAN: Visually there has. I can't tell you outside of guys who have worked with us on a close basis what's happened.

Obviously I'm not allowed to either. But certainly visually, from a player's point of view, they have.

Q. In terms of the players that were in the hotel Saturday night in London, have you spoken to them? And what was that experience like for them?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, I mean, one of the main things was making sure everybody was safe and in a -- well, either at the hotel or at home.

And everybody, you know, it's a completely new experience for everybody and not something they want to go through again. But, yeah, it's nice to see that they're safe.

Q. Are you picking up any vibes from either your players or other teams there might be reservations about continuing with the tournament, bearing in mind The Oval is only a mile or two from London bridge?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, it is. But, no, I haven't spoken to any players or other teams in the tournament. But certainly within our team there's no concerns.

Q. You remain completely happy with the security arrangements around you?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, we do. Yeah.

Q. Kane Williamson and Joe Root both made 100s in their only games in the tournament so far. Do you see similarities in their style of play, the way they go about their batting?
EOIN MORGAN: Similarities in the fact that the two of them are very high-quality players. And in the modern-day game, both of them seem to find a way to expand what they do across all three formats. I see that as a huge quality in both of them, and the way to the runs they score as well, yeah.

Q. The game in Wellington, during the last World Cup, was a real low point, wasn't it, in terms of where England were? And it was like a watershed moment and you came back strongly against New Zealand that summer. Is that relevant at all, what they did to you that day?
EOIN MORGAN: No, I don't think it is. Certainly they were one of the favourites going in to the tournament and proved that against us that day in Wellington.

It was sort of men against boys. But I think it's completely different now, two years down the line. We've got a completely new team, pretty much. And hopefully moving forward.

Q. Is it fair to say New Zealand inspired the way you play now, to a certain extent? They started doing this under McCullum?
EOIN MORGAN: I think there are a number of teams that have. If you look at the top four teams that got to the semifinal stage in the World Cup, all seemed to score regular totals of over 350 or 350 itself.

So I think they've contributed to it as a whole. I think the way New Zealand went about playing their cricket was probably closer to the way we go about it. We have very similar characteristics and values as a side and it's probably the easiest to relate to out of those four teams that made the latter stages.

Q. Is the form of Jason Roy a bit of a concern for you, for him, at the moment?
EOIN MORGAN: Jason has obviously lacked runs lately, but certainly we feel everybody on the team, the squad, back room staff, feel that a score for Jason is around the corner. So hopefully it is tomorrow.

Q. Is this the kind of tournament where you can play yourself back into form?
EOIN MORGAN: I think every game presents a huge opportunity. I think different to playing in series where one team might have the wood over you, you actually come up against different oppositions that have different sides of things.

Certainly again tomorrow presents an opportunity within that to go out and score some runs.

Q. You said it was boys against men back then. What's the difference? Like what makes you men now, if you know what I mean, the difference between boys then and men now?
EOIN MORGAN: I think a lot of it has to do with confidence. You only build confidence by producing performances and winning games at cricket.

I think the combination of that and playing more games as a team and as individuals makes you more experienced as a side.

So we come into this tournament full of confidence and knowing that the conditions we're playing, going to play in, we've played in before and have had success before.

I think the dominant factor in New Zealand was that they had that confidence at the time and the confidence within the group, whereas we didn't have it.

Q. How has Adil Rashid reacted to not playing at The Oval, and will it have dented his confidence in any way to have been a member of the team for a couple of years and then not played in that first game?
EOIN MORGAN: No, not at all. Adil is quite relaxed about things, as with everybody in the group, everybody wants to play, all the 15 want to play. It's not easy leaving guys out sometimes.

But we've come into this tournament to win every game of cricket. And we select the best team that we think is the best chance of winning that particular game.

And it was unfortunate for Adil that he missed out, but he still remains a big part of our future moving forward.

Q. Steven Finn has not been in the team, has been in and out of the side for a couple of years. If he plays, what do you want to see from him?
EOIN MORGAN: I think more of what we've seen in the West Indies. Again, he's been in and out of the side. But what's been a very consistent and progressive bowling unit, it's been hard to get in.

And particularly in that fast bowling, we have Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett doing a fantastic job at the moment. And in the West Indies, Steven showed what he could do, possibly really in about two years of what he could do, in that particular tour. There wasn't a lot of on offer on the pitches in the games he played.

But certainly coming in and bowling fast and hitting the wicket hard was one of those values that he showed. So it was good.

Q. I was going to ask about Finn as well. Would you have any reservation throwing him straight in tomorrow and was he the automatic choice to replace Chris once he was injured?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, he was. And as he was backing up, consistency in selection and trying to get guys together as a group that we've showed trust in over the last couple of years, and Finn has been one of those players.

We've tried to go like for like as often as we can, but when we can't, we go for a guy who we can throw the ball to at any stage in order to try to make an impact in the game. And Finny is one of those guys. And I'd have no hesitation in playing him tomorrow if we felt it was the right thing to do.

Q. I was going to ask whether he could realistically leapfrog guys who are in the usual squad?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it will be a hard thing to do. But certainly he has the quality to do it. Again, taking opportunity is part of doing that. But certainly coming in and making a huge impact on the tournament. We have guys who can do that who are not playing at the moment.

Q. So your natural inclination would be to stick with the original squad and Finn is a backup for tomorrow's?
EOIN MORGAN: There's a chance. It will all depend on the wicket.

Q. How much closer are you to being able to unleash Ben Stokes for 10 overs, or is it still a case of managing through?
EOIN MORGAN: I think very close. He came through it again the other day, bowling more overs than we intended bowling him or having to bowl him. But I think we're nearly there. He's had no pain in five days now. So if that continues throughout tomorrow, there's a chance he could bowl 10 overs.

REVIEWED BY RAJ

CHECKED BY WISDEN INDIA

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