England hoep that placing extra responsibility on Eoin Morgan by appointing him captain in place of the banned Alastair Cook, may help the Irishman to rediscover his form with the bat.
England hoep that placing extra responsibility on Eoin Morgan by appointing him captain in place of the banned Alastair Cook, may help the Irishman to rediscover his form with the bat.
Cook's suspension from the fourth one-day international, after his team bowled their overs so slowly on the way to victory over Sri Lanka in Hambantota, left England's management with plenty to ponder before the series resumes back in Colombo on Sunday.
They have already confirmed the first and most important decision: that Morgan will be in charge as they seek to level up at 2-2.
Other quandaries, such as whether to deploy Alex Hales alongside Moeen Ali in an experimental opening partnership or to recall experienced, utility top-four batsman Ian Bell, will test the tactical nous of captain and coach Peter Moores.
Before those calls are made, Moores has suggested a return to leadership duties may help Morgan arrest his slump. Since his prolific series in Australia last winter, the middle-order linchpin has made just 207 one-day international runs in 13 attempts over nine months, with an average of less than 16 compared to his career output of more than 37.
"He will be frustrated . . . very disappointed that he hasn't yet managed to impact on the series," said Moores, who nonetheless does not find it difficult to keep faith in the 28-year-old's abilities. "He's a really top-flight one-day player, a real key for us. It will be interesting next game, as captain. Maybe that is a nice catalyst for him. He's getting fully stuck in, and working at it. With four games to go, if he catches fire, he might end up top runscorer. The captaincy may be a healthy distraction."
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