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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

June 8, 2019

Eoin Morgan

Cardiff, Wales, UK

England - 386/6, Bangladesh - 280

Q. After the defeat the other day, how pleased were you with not just the result, but I guess the way you went about it, the aggression with bat and ball?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, it was probably an improvement on the other day. Right throughout the whole game, right from the start, just the platform we started with, obviously it changed. We continued to lose wickets throughout our innings against Pakistan.

Today that opening stand really did lay a solid platform. I don't think it was that easy up front. I don't think the ball came on to bat a lot. The first four or five overs proved that; we didn't really go anywhere. We were trying to score runs, but we didn't go anywhere.

I thought Jason and Jonny were outstanding. They assessed conditions well. They waited for the bad ball. Waited for themselves to impose themselves in the innings, and 128 is a considerable standard.

Q. And how was it as a captain to know you've got someone like Jason who more often than not when he gets runs, he goes big with it?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, to be honest, it's a luxury, because probably particularly you guys more than anybody, and then people in the general, you know, support of cricketer fans talk about scoring hundreds. He's an exception to the rule that just goes on and gets big scores, and it can range from 140 or 180, and the rate he gets it at, just he's so difficult to defend. He scores all the way around the ground. He takes really good bowlers down, as well. He hits good balls for boundaries. So he's great to have on the side, particularly when he's in this form.

Q. Can you just talk about Jason and the way he sort of matured the last sort of two years to the player he is now and what his strengths are?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, I think probably one of his biggest strengths at the moment is his temper. It might surprise a lot of people, me saying that, but if you look at the guy as he's matured from a county cricketer into the full-blown international cricketer he is now, the temperament he shows at different stages of his innings and how he goes about picking off his boundaries and the areas in which he scores; I think from the start of his international cricket to right now, I think there's a considerable difference.

Q. Can you just give us an update on Jos Buttler's fitness and is there any doubt?
EOIN MORGAN: There's no serious concern at the moment. He's obviously going to be monitored over the next 48 hours, but at the moment, it was more precautionary rather than unable to do his job.

Q. Is it his hip?
EOIN MORGAN: It's his hip, yeah.

Q. Jason I think's got five scores in excess of 50 in his last six one-day international knocks. Do you think he could transfer that sort of form to Test cricket?
EOIN MORGAN: I've said this before: I do think he could play Test cricket at some stage. I think he has every attribute to be a Test cricketer. Whether that's now or in a couple of years' time, it's not for me to decide, but he certainly has all the attributes, yeah.

Q. Going forward, Jos Buttler's fitness is crucial to you, isn't it?
EOIN MORGAN: No, I'm quite confident that it's not a serious injury.

Q. Both Archer and Wood touched 95 miles an hour today. How much of a luxury is that?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, it's unbelievable, and I think probably the slow nature of the pitch made it more difficult to play. Shorter bowls didn't fly through like a quick-natured pitch, and easier to play or get out of the way of. It sort of follows you when it's slower. So today was ideal.

Q. Just staying with Archer, you said you were hoping for a reaction and he had learned from the second match. Are you quite pleased with the way he learned for the third?
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, absolutely. Probably the way he finished, as well. Obviously we've seen him start extremely well, coming back in the middle and towards the end, not under any pressure but obviously we'd like to bowl them out to try to get our rate up for the tournament. We wanted to bowl. From about the 44th over, we wanted to bowl.

Q. You obviously went with the one spinner today, and picked Adil over Moeen. Has Moeen's form with the bat made that decision a bit easier for you?
EOIN MORGAN: No. It was out and out with the ball, the decision. Had nothing to do with the bat.

Q. Good news, it seems, on Buttler, but if there is any slight concern over his fitness, would you please him just as a specialist batsman Friday, given you have Jonny on the squad?
EOIN MORGAN: Depends on the risk of him making his injury worse in the field. Like in theory, probably the best place for him to be is with the gloves on. The worry would be if a high catch went up, and him with the gloves would take the responsibility in trying to catch it or get to the catch and make his hip worse.

So in theory, the best place for him to be would be with the gloves on.

Q. Given it's such a long tournament, I guess like today, better be safe than sorry.
EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, and there's five days I think between now and the next game. So we'll use every day as much as we can to try and get him back on the park, and if that's not the case and he is a risk going into the next game, it might not be worth it.

Q. How do you assess Bangladesh's bowling today? What was your plan against Bangladesh's spinners?
EOIN MORGAN: To score runs off them and not lose wickets.

I don't understand the question. Our plans against Bangladesh bowlers?

Q. Yeah. Or how do you assess the Bangladesh bowling?
EOIN MORGAN: I don't. It's not my job. Thank you very much.

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