Andrew Strauss will be missed: Eoin Morgan

England’s limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan has hailed Andrew Strauss after he recently resigned from the post of director of the England Cricket Board(ECB). Morgan lauded Strauss for his efforts as the director and talked about how the former skipper changed the Three Lions’ fate in limited-overs cricket. After a horrific time in the 2015 World Cup, the English side started their rebuilding phase under the leadership of Eoin Morgan with Andrew Strauss playing a role in ECB’s management.

Leading to the 2015 World Cup, England suffered a defeat from the hands of Sri Lanka. In a seven-match ODI series, the hosts were brutally thrashed as the Lankans won the series 5-2. The humiliation was followed by the 2015 World Cup where England lost to Bangladesh after which they crashed out of the World Cup. In the last three years, the English side has changed completely. Under Eoin Morgan, they have come out all guns firing and with the likes of Jason Roy, Johnny Bairstow, Ben Stokes in their ranks, the side has transformed completely.

“I come back with a totally different outlook, ”Morgan was quoted as saying in ICC’s official website. “(In 2014), we were still in transition in trying to play a style that didn’t come naturally to us. We struggled to take wickets, we struggled to get Kumar Sangakkara out, and Mahela (Jayawardene) played really well. They were the foundation of the Sri Lanka team. So it was teams at two very different stages of their cycle.”

Praise for Strauss

Recently, Andrew Strauss resigned as the director of ECB. Strauss started his duties in 2015 and was at the forefront since. According to Morgan, Strauss was instrumental in England’s team-building and his side’s plans were influenced by him. The English skipper believes that Strauss helped the England side to express themselves on the field and he gave them the freedom which gets displayed on the field.

“Without that direction, we wouldn’t haven’t been allowed the freedom to play in that manner because we could plan four years ahead. The absolute clarity and direction he wanted us to go in was quite a big deal. He will be missed because we’re coming towards the end of the cycle that he was at the very beginning of,” said Morgan. While speaking about England’s recent rise, Morgan said, “well thought out, well planned and, to an extent, well executed.”

With the World Cup scheduled in England, Morgan’s side is one of the contenders to win the glorious cup next year. While talking about the team building phase Morgan said that his team is a result of three and a half years of hard work. “I think we’re getting to the most important part of what we’ve been planning towards,” said Morgan while addressing the World Cup as the most important part. Under Strauss, England did exceedingly well and would be hoping to carry on the momentum in the World Cup next year.

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