Eoin Morgan was left with mixed emotions after his England side’s defeat by New Zealand at The Oval, praising his players but admitting the Duckworth-Lewis calculation that turned 54 runs needed from 37 deliveries into 34 from 13 was beyond his comprehension.
“Considering we got so close in the chase it was a little bit disappointing at the end,” Morgan said. “It’s a huge ask to chase down 399 but to have 34 to chase in 13 balls, given that we set it up so deep and the momentum was with us – it was very disappointing.”
Asked if he understood how that number was reached, he replied: “Do I understand Duckworth-Lewis? No, I don’t think anybody does. But it’s a part of the game you can’t change.”
Morgan hailed the rejuvenation of England since their dismal World Cup campaign, having followed up their 408 for nine at Edgbaston with 365 for nine at The Oval – their highest total batting second.
“We are enjoying playing this brand of cricket and having the guys in the changing room to play in that way naturally and not making it such a big deal,” he said.
“They are a young group – I think Liam Plunkett is the oldest at 30 – and that means there is a huge amount of potential and talent to work with.
“That’s great for any captain and the backroom staff. We would like to think that we are never out of the game and that, if we are, we’re going down swinging.”
Morgan said Chris Jordan, who pulled up with a side strain after nine overs, is now a doubt for Sunday’s third one-dayer in Southampton but was quick to defend his bowling attack after they endured their costliest one-day innings in the field.
The England captain maintains their efforts against the World Cup finalists on a run-soaked pitch in south London showed good aggression until well-documented issues at the end surfaced once more and led to the side shipping 109 runs in the final 10 overs.
“We’re playing against a strong New Zealand side – Corey Anderson and Dan Vettori are the only ones missing from their World Cup side,” Morgan said. “We are a side that needs to take wickets as we do not have someone who is gifted at the death.
“We will continue with that attitude until guys can up their skill level or find more ways of getting batsmen out.”
The man of the match, Ross Taylor, whose unbeaten 119 from 96 deliveries powered New Zealand’s highest total against a Test-playing nation, admitted that without the late rain England could well have pulled off their chase.
“When we came off for rain I thought it was just in our favour, they’d still have had to bat well,” said Taylor.
“The rain helped us out. Needing 34 off 2.1 overs was a tough ask and, if rain didn’t come, it could have been a different story,” he added.
Taylor went on to say that while the match aggregate of 763 runs was “awesome”, he believes the balance of power has swung too far in the favour of batsmen in one-day cricket.
The International Cricket Council is considering a tweak to the existing fielding restrictions which would mean a fifth man permitted outside the inner circle for the final 10 overs.
“It is now probably harder to bowl in one-dayers than in Twenty20, which is not right,” Taylor said. “The new rules, if they do get passed, will make bowling a lot easier.”
