England’s one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, is taking a break from the game in the hope of rediscovering his form before the series against Australia, which starts on 31 August.
The Middlesex and England management have decided to rest Morgan for the county’s next three Royal London One Day Cup matches as well as their County Championship match against Sussex, which starts on Friday, because of a dip in the batsman’s form after a gruelling 10 months. The hope is he will return refreshed for England’s Twenty20 and one-day series against Australia, which begins on 31 August.
“He’s not been in great nick and he’s been working behind the scenes to try and rectify that but the view was that sometimes the harder you try the deeper the hole you get in and he should have a rest to break that,” said Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser.
Morgan’s highest score for his county this season is 54, with an average of only 14.66 in his last 18 innings across all formats.
“He has been working his socks off away from matches trying to find the form he wants and it has so far not brought the results he is looking for,” added Fraser. “We believe a week or two away from cricket will allow him to recharge and to play the cricket he wants for the remainder of the season.
“When you are struggling it’s emotionally hard; you lie awake thinking about how to try and break that cycle, you’re working every spare minute in the nets grabbing whichever coach you can see to give you some throw-downs, and all that takes its toll. This is a culmination of 10 months of being on the road and Eoin has some big cricket ahead and sometimes a rest is what is needed.”
England cricket fixtures
Mon 31 Aug England v Australia (T20) Cardiff
Thu 3 Sept England v Australia (1st ODI) Rose Bowl
Sat 5 Sept England v Australia (2nd ODI) Lord’s
Tue 8 Sept England v Australia (3rd ODI) Old Trafford
Fri 11 Sept England v Australia (4th ODI ) Headingley
Sun 13 Sept England v Australia (5th ODI ) Old Trafford
Morgan has practically been in non-stop mode since being part of England’s tour to Sri Lanka at the end of last year.
After its completion on 16 December he was straight into action for the Sydney Thunder at the Big Bash League before – having been given England’s one-day captaincy following the ECB’s decision to sack Alastair Cook – he led England in five one-day matches in a Tri-series against Australia and India and then through a disastrous World Cup campaign.
He went on to represent the Sunrisers in the IPL before returning to captain Middlesex for the start of their Natwest T20 Blast campaign. This was followed by him being part of England‘s thrilling series victory over New Zealand this summer – a series in which he scored a stunning 113 from 82 balls in the final match at Trent Bridge.
