Morgan and England face the moment of truth

After a below-par batting performance against minnows Afghanistan, England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka in a group league encounter of the ICC World Twenty20, here on Saturday.

It will be quite a test for the England batsmen as they will face at least 8 overs of quality spin bowling from left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay on a sluggish Kotla track. And Eoin Morgan and England face elimination unless they find a solution to the spin bowling riddle. Morgan’s lack of runs is becoming one of England’s most pressing concerns as they reach the make-or-break phase of the tournament. The captain has failed to reach 40 in any of his last 11 innings in white ball cricket. And his golden duck — when he shouldered arms to a straight ball — was the craziest moment during England’s below par batting display against Afghanistan on Wednesday. Just five days after chasing a record 230 to beat South Africa, England found themselves 57-6 against a non-Test nation. Now, confronted by the same surface tomorrow and the vastly superior spinners of Sri Lanka, Morgan and his mates must improve quickly and significantly. England need to beat Sri Lanka to reach the semi-finals and hope run rates do not conspire against them. 

But assistant coach Paul Farbrace insists Morgan will not shirk his responsibilities or try to kid himself. Farbrace said: “Eoin is striking the ball very well in practice. One thing about Eoin is he’s very honest. “He’s not someone who will be kidding us and making excuses. He made an error against Afghanistan and that cost his wicket. “We’re trying to play a dynamic game. Eoin has not only led the team brilliantly in the way he talks to them but also by playing with freedom himself. “If the captain talks about playing one way and then plays another, or is inconsistent, it causes confusion for players. There is absolutely no confusion with Eoin. “He is our experienced man and maybe feels he carries a fair bit of weight on his shoulders. “Maybe he feels he has to do more than he needs to although that’s something only he knows. Between now and Saturday, we’ll talk and make sure he’s clear in his own mind how he’s going to play. But, honestly, we don’t have any concerns whatsoever.

“When Sri Lanka won the World Twenty20 in 2014 (Farbrace was coach), Kumar Sangakkara’s top score going into the final was 14 and he made 50-odd in the final and won the game. If Morgs does that, we’ll be more than happy.” Morgan is a lynchpin in the middle order and, in the 20-over format, England can ill-afford to have a malfunctioning batsman who chews up balls without scoring many runs. After Joe Root, he is also England’s best player of spin. For Sri Lanka, veteran opener Tillekaratne Dilshan, who is back in form, will like to use all his experience of playing on these tracks. Sri Lanka, who are going through the transition phase have found it very hard to be consistent. To be fair, even with all his cricketing attributes, skipper Angelo Mathews has looked out of depth at times in the shortest format, which is not the case when he plays Tests and ODIs. More so, because a few players like Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedara, who have been playing long enough for the Sri Lankan side, have not transformed from being potential to sure shot match winners.