Eoin Morgan slams England seniors, management for avoiding media

Eoin Morgan, the cricketer-turned-commentator, has criticised England head coach Matthew Mott and senior players for not showing the courage to face the media. England have had a disappointing campaign in the ongoing ICC men's Cricket World Cup in India. The Jos Buttler-led side capitulated to the worst title defence as they were the first team to get knocked out of the semifinal race. 

England made the worst possible start in the tournament after being defeated by New Zealand in their opening game of the tournament. They then managed to beat Bangladesh in their second game and appeared to be on track. However, the defending champions struggled and suffered five losses on the trot.

After England suffered a 33-run defeat against Australia which also saw them crash out from the showpiece event, the team management sent out assistant coach Carl Hopkinson for the post-match press conference in Ahmedabad. However, it did not go well with the World Cup-winning captain, stating he was surprised by the move and accused the team management of dodging their responsibility. Either the head coach or any of the senior players of the team should have attended the press conference instead of the assistant coach, according to the 37-year-old.

"I was surprised and shocked by it. When you sit in a meeting as a captain or a head coach you make those decisions on the side, and when things are going wrong, you need absolute clarity and direction. When you talk about messaging in an interview process, you naturally turn to senior players or your head coach to front up," Morgan said while speaking to Sky Sports.

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The former cricketer went on to question whether the team management is 'shirking responsibility.'

"In certain instances, you could look at it and say, 'Are they shirking responsibility?' At the moment, it is a sinking ship and you need people to take responsibility for their actions," he added.