Eoin Morgan admitted England simply had not been good enough with both bat and ball after a thrilling 15-run loss at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack ensured defeat in the three‑game one-day series against India.
“We weren’t at our best today with the ball,” Morgan said after England’s bowlers had been carved around this raucous full-house stadium, and had no answers to a 256-run partnership between Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. “Again we took early wickets, which is a good sign but letting two experienced guys get in like that and struggling to break the partnership throughout was probably due to not executing our plans well enough.”
Once again England had no real answer as by the end a pair of well‑set Indian batsmen were able to play audacious attacking shots to all parts of the ground. “When a bowler doesn’t get it right on the day, which can happen, you try different things,” Morgan said. “When you’re trying different things to two guys who are really in they can really hurt you and they did.”
Morgan could not find solace in his own century that took England close but always just a little too far in India’s wing mirror. “No, it doesn’t work like that at all. It actually works the opposite way.
It’ a pretty disappointing day. More often than not when you perform the side wins and they say well done. When you lose there’s absolutely no satisfaction at all.”
Repeatedly England’s captain has referred to his team’s “skill-levels” falling short, which is presumably code for a lack of control with the ball and an absence of variation and devil against high-class batsmen on flat pitches. With this in mind Morgan offered a word of support for his team-mates heading to the Indian Premier League to hone their skills and boost their bank balances. “A lot of them will be available for the auction this year. Hopefully they will be picked up and play the majority of the games.”
There was also a word of mild encouragement for Stuart Broad, a man many believe is still England’s best one-day bowler. “He’s always in our thoughts. He hasn’t played since the South African tour last year. I thought he charged in at the Big Bash, I watched all his games, and he’s working on his variations. It’s very difficult for him to go straight from Test cricket to playing in the Big Bash but he’s made a fist of it. He wants to play more white‑ball cricket, and he certainly could be an option for the future.”
