Eoin Morgan turned a hospital pass into a golden ticket — and now he’s on course to join the greats among England captains.
Morgan is sole survivor of the only England men's team to win a global limited-overs competition — the World Twenty20 nine years ago, when Paul Collingwood led them to glory in the Caribbean.
He could conquer the planet again this summer, and former team-mate Matt Prior says Morgan would deserve reverence as one of English cricket’s leadership giants if he lifts the World Cup on July 14.
His tournament favourites take another step towards destiny against the West Indies at the Rose Bowl on Friday. And Prior, part of the England side who reached No.1 in the Test charts in 2010-11, believes Morgan has been the “catalyst” for their conversion from one-day dunces four years ago to the current side’s record-breaking cavaliers.
Morgan was handed the one-day captaincy at woefully short notice in Australia and New Zealand after Alastair Cook was axed, and he had no time to establish his own blueprint.
Prior said: “What a statement of Eoin’s talent it would be if he could win the World Cup almost a decade after helping England to win the World Twenty20. As much as anything, I think it would be just reward for his leadership.
“He is a phenomenal player in his own right, and he’s been one of our best batsmen for hitting it out of the park for a long time. But you cannot underestimate the job he’s done in terms of the way he has turned England’s fortunes in white-ball cricket around and instilling a new mentality, a whole new approach to the game.
“When I played with him, he was a big advocate of going to the IPL (Indian Premier League) as much as a vehicle for learning as anything else.
"Yes, the financial rewards were appealing, but he was enlightened enough to see it as an opportunity to go and learn about the game, to broaden horizons. You play in front of huge crowds, almost every ball is an event, and you share dressing rooms with the best players in the world.
“He has brought that mentality into the England changing room and other players are catching the wave now.It’s making English cricket stronger, and it’s one reason why we are favourites to win this World Cup.
“Look, this tournament is as good a chance as they have ever had to win it – and, if we are being brutally honest, they should win it. We shouldn’t be afraid to say England are the strongest team, they are playing in home conditions and they should be the team to beat.
“If they win it, Eoin Morgan has been the catalyst for an astonishing turnaround in our white-ball cricket, and he will deserve to be recognised as one of England’s great captains for his leadership.”
* Matt Prior was speaking at the Chance To Shine schools open day, supported by Yorkshire Tea, at Lord’s. Visit chancetoshine.org to find out more about how to play, learn and develop through cricket.
