	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

June 13, 2019

Eoin Morgan

Southampton, England, UK

Q. Is Jos Buttler fully fit?
EOIN MORGAN: Jos is fully fit. Mark Wood is going to have a fitness test in the morning. Nothing too serious. He pulled up a little bit sore from the game in Cardiff so he is the only concern at the moment.

Q. What is the nature of his soreness, injury?
EOIN MORGAN: His ankle is a little bit sore, I think.

Q. So you think you will maybe rest him as a precaution?
EOIN MORGAN: It depends. We haven't bowled pretty much for two days, or he hasn't bowled, so he will have to see how he bowls and if it is still sore, we probably won't take a risk.

Q. In terms of Jos, is he good to keep as well?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, he's fully fit.

Q. Moeen Ali comes back in?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, great news obviously. Mo's wife gave birth to a baby girl, all healthy and well so it's great to see him back.

Q. What is the decision you have got to make in terms of the seamer that makes way? What will go into that decision?
EOIN MORGAN: Whether we feel we might go with four, like we did in Cardiff, or two spinners might be more effective.

And the decision behind what seamers is always a balance to be good enough to win the game against the West Indies.

Q. We can hear the rain pummelling down now. It is starting to have a big impact on this tournament. Is there any concern for you looking ahead that it might impact your chances of making the semifinals?
EOIN MORGAN: I don't think the rain will be the reason we don't make the semifinals. I think today's probably the last of the significant rain for the next few days. I know the last three days I think haven't been great for sides trying to get games in.

But at some stage during the tournament we will be hit by a small bit of rain. It's great that it's not too much and, hopefully, it doesn't impact one team more than twice.

Q. What is your feeling on the fact there are no reserve days? Do you think it is fair?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, I do think it is fair. The tournament is quite a long tournament as it is. I think to have reserve days in the group stages is too much. I do think later in the tournament they are necessary, but for group stage games it's part and parcel of being anywhere in the world the fact that it might rain at some stage.

Q. How highly do you rate this West Indies side? We saw in the winter both teams pushing each other all the way, what do you make of them?
EOIN MORGAN: They are a strong outfit. We expect the exact same tomorrow. They are explosive with the bat. And a different challenge with the ball. A lot of their seamers are quite tall and look to hit the wicket and obviously the majority of the time they only play one spinner, so that is going to be the challenge here.

Q. For Jofra Archer is this the perfect opportunity to show them what they missed?
EOIN MORGAN: No, I think that sort of opportunity has been gone for some time now. Jofra's been very consistent over a long period of time since he came to Sussex. It is great that he's in an England shirt at the moment.

He won't know how it will feel until he plays the game tomorrow. I think being in that position myself it does feel different the first time you play against a side that either you could have potentially played for or played for. But I'm sure he will handle it like he's handled everything else so far.

Q. From what you have seen of Jofra -- and you have worked with him in an England context -- do you think the opportunities are more likely to inspire him rather than intimidate him?
EOIN MORGAN: Every challenge he's come up against so far he's come out the other side really well. So let's see how it goes. We are not expecting anything majorly different.

Q. It's always interesting how cricket kind of evolves, isn't it, and what we thought maybe would a match-winning combination for any team at the start of a World Cup, maybe changes as the World Cup begins. Fast bowling has really been a big part of the World Cup so far?
EOIN MORGAN: It has.

Q. It proves you need to have a fast bowler at your disposal?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, if not one, two. Even the game yesterday, Australia against Pakistan. The big impact was when it Starc came back at the end of the innings to take those wickets.

Q. Has anything you have seen from the West Indies changed your view of how to play against them? Clearly, fast bowling has been a big thing for them so far?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, it's still the same. Right from the first game that they have played in this tournament. Even when you go back to games that we played in the winter, big games, the big contributions all had to do with the fast bowlers.

Q. Can we circle back to Mark Wood? Is it the left ankle?
EOIN MORGAN: I think it is. I'm not 100 percent sure, though, so don't take that as gospel.

Q. In terms of this being a problem that rears its head semi-regularly, are you mindful if he pulls up, if he misses this game, that you might have to manage him a little more carefully and not play successive back-to-back games with him?
EOIN MORGAN: It's part of the plan because they are fast bowlers. It will happen to other bowlers throughout the tournament, we are well aware of that, and we will have to manage him like we would normally, as we do with say Chris Woakes if there was a back-to-back game. It's not a problem, it is just what happens.

Q. In terms of the West Indies, are you expecting a slightly different kind of game than the ones we saw in the Caribbean recently. It was a kind of a slug-fest with the number of sixes?
EOIN MORGAN: I'd be surprised if the wicket is as good. The parameters of the ground here are a lot bigger than the West Indies as well. Given the wicket has been under cover for the last 24 hours, I don't think it will be as good.

Q. Of all the teams in this tournament, the West Indies are the only side that you have failed to beat in your most recent series against them. Does that fill you with frustration?
EOIN MORGAN: It is not frustration because we learnt a huge amount about growing our game out in the West Indies. The fact that we are not getting carried away about some of the success we have had.

I think it's important to have days where you are beaten or can't beat a side because you then look even more into areas of improvement as opposed to beating sides convincingly, or even getting over the line showing good character and playing well. You almost look outwardly and say, "What were we missing today?"

Q. What did you learn specifically about your last ODI against them when you were bowled out for 130?
EOIN MORGAN: Yes, more so playing on bouncy wickets, our shot selection wasn't great at all. Continuing to get out in the same way as opposed to showing better game awareness and trying to manage that because, with the benefit of hindsight, getting some sort of score on the board would have allowed us to stay in the game and possibly win the game because opportunities to score are a little bit more difficult than we had come up against in that series.

Q. Do you think the West Indies have a chance of winning this tournament?
EOIN MORGAN: They're here. There's a chance.

Q. But they beat you guys, you obviously are the No 1 team in the world, they beat you in a couple of games in that series and played really good cricket. Are they at that level or are they an upset team at this stage?
EOIN MORGAN: I haven't played enough cricket against them, or watched them enough to give a good account of them, so that's probably the honest answer.

Q. One more. In terms of the wickets and the bails, there's been a talking point of the ball hitting the stumps and the bails not coming off. Have you got a theory on why it's happening so often?
EOIN MORGAN: I don't have a theory, no (smiling). I am watching it like you are, yeah.

Q. Have you been surprised? What has been your reaction?
EOIN MORGAN: More so surprised that when the ball's hit the actual stump with full contact as opposed to clip. The ball has clipped the stumps for years and made a noise and guys have been given out caught behind. That's happened a lot in the past.

I think with the benefit of the unbelievable cameras that are around now you spot that. But more surprised about when the ball hits the stumps, like it trickles back with spin and hits it, yeah.

Q. Nothing's changed according to the ICC? Has that seemed the case to you?
EOIN MORGAN: It's fine. I don't know how long the Zing bails and the stumps have been around now. But it's like any new gadget. The more you play, the more problems you see than the benefit of it.

Q. In terms of that previous series again and the way Chris Gayle had such great success against you, have you gone back over that, reviewed that series and come up with new plans, or is it business as usual?
EOIN MORGAN: Both. So we've looked at previous series where we have played at home and plans that have worked and also when we've played on like recently in the Caribbean on very flat wickets where he is hard to contain. We've also planned for that as well.

Q. You mentioned before about having been in the same position that Archer was all those years ago about playing against a team that you might have played for or had played for. He seems to take everything in his stride anyway. Can you talk a bit about I suppose what you found difficult about it?
EOIN MORGAN: I didn't necessarily find it difficult. I found it a different challenge as opposed to a difficult challenge. Yeah. Just different.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297