Cricket:Eoin Morgan today paid the price for a dismal tour of the United Arab Emirates after being dropped from England's squad for the trip to Sri Lanka. Morgan averaged just 13.66 against Pakistan in three tests in the Middle East and fared little better in the limited-overs contests in which he is regarded as a specialist.
The Dubliner’s struggles have presented an opportunity for Samit Patel, who has been included in the party for the first time and will compete with Ravi Bopara for the number six spot. His spin could also come in handy on turning sub-continent wickets, although the slow-bowling ranks have been strengthened further by the addition of James Tredwell.
And while the spinner-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka have presented an opportunity for Patel and Tredwell they contributed to the omission of Morgan. The left-hander was one of several England batsmen to struggle against the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
England coach Andy Flower believes he requires time to iron out some flaws in his technique, but has tipped him to bounce back. He said: “He’s had a tough tour of the UAE, we’ve been here for two months and it’s been hard work for him.
“He has got some work to do I think on his test game — that’s going to be quite difficult for him considering his next cricket is going to be IPL cricket. When he comes back he’ll have limited exposure to opportunities to get four-day cricket under his belt so he has got to go away and give some serious thought to his method in test cricket.
“He has been severely tested out there by the Pakistan spinners as have all our batsmen. I still think he has a very exciting future in test cricket, he’s only 25 years old and he’s a very talented player, a very confident player and a very dangerous player.
“If he can get his game in order so that the next time he gets a game in test cricket he can grab it with both hands then he will fulfil his wishes for his cricket career and England will be a better side for it.”