Eoin Morgan gave a withering assessment of the Lord’s pitch on which his England team suffered a record collapse against South Africa and said he would be disappointed if similar surfaces appeared during the Champions Trophy.
In a seven-wicket defeat in the third one‑day international – although England won the series 2-1 – Morgan’s side were bowled out for 153 in 31.1 overs batting first, including, for the first time in the history of the format, the loss of the top six batsmen in the first five overs of the match.
The England captain, whose side begin their quest for a first global 50-over trophy against Bangladesh on Thursday, insisted the host venues – The Oval, Edgbaston and Cardiff – must not repeat the grassy surface in St John’s Wood with which his batsmen failed to cope.
“I don’t think it was a one-day international wicket to be honest,” said Morgan, who after collecting the man-of-the-series award described the dead-rubber defeat as a nice reminder for his hotly tipped side to “keep our feet on the ground”.
Asked if he was confident they would not have similar pitches in the upcoming tournament, he said: “I’d be disappointed if we did because any side that bats first has the potential to lose the game on the toss and in a major tournament it would be hard to take. It makes it one-sided, which I don’t think is good for anybody.”
Jonny Bairstow top-scored for England with 51 but, as was the case against Ireland earlier in the month, Morgan doused any talk of a late switch to include the Yorkshireman; Jason Roy, whose top score in five international innings this summer is 20, will not be making way.
Morgan said: “It’s the hardest thing telling Jonny he’s not playing. Jason is our No1 pick at the moment – he and Alex Hales have been our openers for some time. They’ve had ups and down but ultimately they have played in the fashion that we have wanted as a team and been important to that.”
England remain confident that Ben Stokes will be fit for Thursday. The all-rounder is due for a scan on Tuesday on a troublesome left knee injury that flares up when he bowls but Trevor Bayliss, the England head coach, said he will play as a batsman regardless. Chris Woakes (thigh) and Moeen Ali (groin) also missed out at Lord’s but are similarly expected to be fit.
Bayliss said: “I think today’s performance ensures we go into the Champions Trophy without big heads.”
