A decade that proved the making of Captain Morgan

Brock Witt | 12:13am BST 10 April 2022

When tucking a bat under his arm and trudging off the field after seeing his second innings come to a close during a defeat to Pakistan in March 2012, Eoin Morgan could not have imagined that he was walking away from Test cricket.

He had made only 41 across two knocks, in what was a 16th outing in the most historic form of the game, but few fingers of blame could be pointed in his direction as the bones began to be picked out of another disappointing setback. Some ten years on, though, and Morgan has not hit an international red ball in anger since.

He is currently counting down the days to another shot at T20 World Cup glory – having previously claimed that title back in 2010 – with England priced at 7/2 to savour ultimate glory in Australia later this year for anyone interested in betting on cricket T20 World Cup markets. There is also the defence of a 50-over crown to start thinking about ahead of a trip to India in 2023. England are likely to feature as top picks in the free cricket betting tips for both tournaments due to their current prowess in these formats.

Exactly 24 hours ago, England were crowned world champions, after the final to end all finals.

Re-live the greatest finish of all time, as you've never seen it before!#CWC19Final | #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/SHrgguTI75

— ICC (@ICC) July 15, 2019

Morgan’s men will also be fancied to go well there, with impressive progress made by those who favour more colourful attire over the classic whites of a Test arena. With so many humbling shocks endured on World Cup stages in the past, considerable time and effort have been put into righting those wrongs.

Hoisting a prestigious trophy aloft at Lord’s on July 14, 2019, was the ultimate reward for all of that hard work. Morgan, as the man to get his hands on the silverware, had played an integral role in reversing fortunes so dramatically that a standing as the best side on the planet could be savoured, especially in the dramatic fashion that it was achieved.

Crossroads

He would not have known it at the time, but the first steps down that path to global glory were taken when heading for the dressing rooms in Dubai with his head hung down and shoulders slumped.

Morgan knew back then that questions were being asked of his presence, despite his obvious qualities seemingly being well suited to an England side that was looking for someone to provide quick and heavy run-scoring in their middle order.

More patience could have been shown, but fate was busy writing another script for a humble yet determined character. At a career crossroads in which his international career could have headed for the scrapheap before it had really got going, the right path was found.

Morgan had always looked more like a white-ball specialist than a red one, with his ball-striking ability marking him out as a man for occasions in which speed is of the essence, rather than those which stretch over five days.

I am extremely grateful to receive the honour of becoming a Freeman of the City of London! 🗝 pic.twitter.com/2Kp0D6ZyOO

— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) February 23, 2022

He has proved as much, becoming England’s most-capped player in ODI and T20 contests, while also being the nation’s all-time leading run-scorer in both of those disciplines.

To have gone from Test cast-off to record-setting and World Cup-winning captain is quite some achievement. He may not have seen such achievements coming ten years ago, but a decade of being all white has proved to be the making of Morgan. It’s exciting to see what the future holds after the recent success he has had.