Eoin Morgan has been singled out as the most important figure behind England’s one-day revival by the team’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, who believes their current barnstorming approach to the format comes down to the captain’s near relentless backing of his players.
After wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, England go into Saturday’s group game against Australia at Edgbaston with a Champions Trophy semi-final already sewn up and their one headache being whether to stick with Jason Roy or parachute in Jonny Bairstow as opener.
Morgan has previously said Roy will play through the entire tournament but his faith is being tested by the right-hander’s average of 6.71 from his seven international innings this summer. Farbrace all but ruled out a switch, however, saying it would go against the philosophy of the captain that has made their disastrous 2015 World Cup a distant memory.
“I think Eoin Morgan is the single biggest factor in England’s success in the last two years in white-ball cricket,” said Farbrace, who stepped up as caretaker coach during the New Zealand series that followed the World Cup and witnessed something of an epiphany when the side came out all guns blazing by posting 408 for nine in Birmingham in the first ODI.
“Andrew Strauss [the director of cricket] took a lot of credit in that he talked about a new emphasis, while Trevor Bayliss has come in as a very experienced coach. But for me, Eoin Morgan is the single biggest factor.
“In the buildup to that game here in 2015 [against New Zealand] he talked to players about going and playing your way – there’ll be no one getting stuck into you if you get out playing an ordinary shot. People have taken his lead and I think that’s why the team has flourished.”
Roy actually made a golden duck during that watershed total two years ago in his maiden international innings but it was the selflessness shown in attacking for the team that means Farbrace is fully behind Morgan’s current support of the 26-year-old.
He said: “We haven’t seen anything about him that suggests he is struggling for confidence. We’ve been consistent with our selections and we’ve stuck by people when they haven’t been taking wickets or scoring runs. It’s always paid dividends. I don’t see Jason being any different.
“At no stage has he ever tried to get runs for himself to keep himself in the next game. He’s always played in the way we want him to as a team and you stick by people in that case.”
Bairstow was one of four England reserves to train in the indoor school at Edgbaston on Thursday, with the XI that beat New Zealand in Cardiff given an extra day off.
On the prospect of knocking out Australia on Saturday, Farbrace added: “Our motivation is purely on keeping momentum going and playing well. We think we’re still learning. Who we’re playing on Saturday is irrelevant. It’s a case of us continuing to do well. Australia have a high quality. You want the players to be excited by that.”
