England will face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 1.30pm, without the injured Jason Roy; Morgan is proud that his team has been through numerous absences to make the last four and how his diverse side acts as role models for young cricketers.
Eoin Morgan says taking his “tough” England to the final of the T20 World Cup would be “a great achievement” considering the injury and absence problems they have faced.
England will reach consecutive T20 finals, and a third ICC global final in six years, if they beat New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event starting at 1.30pm.
Morgan’s men defeated the Black Caps on the countdown to win the 50 World Cup at Lord’s two years ago, having gone to the West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup final when Carlos Brathwaite scored. four consecutive sixes against Ben Stokes in the last over.
Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran have missed the entire current World Cup, while England have also lost the services of Tymal Mills and Jason Roy during the tournament, with starting batter Roy as the latest casualty after suffering a strain at the calf against South Africa. last Saturday.
“You can go to the final and lose, but reaching the final would be a great achievement,” said Morgan, who refuted the claim that his team was a huge favorite to beat the Black Caps.
“We have been missing several big name players. If you look at all the good things we have done, probably the strongest point has been the resistance of our team to find a way to move forward and move on.”
“The resilience has been exceptional. We have to acknowledge that. The guys who have come in have come in with an open mind and have recognized the opportunity to make a difference for this team.”
England topped Group 1 in the Super 12 stage, while New Zealand finished second in Group 2, with both teams winning four of their five matches.
Morgan said: “It’s a great achievement to come across the group like we did. Now it’s about producing the best we can.
“The guys are extremely excited about the challenge and potentially the opportunity that could follow, but we need to play really good cricket to beat New Zealand.
“We know how good New Zealand is, how consistent it has been in the last number of World Cups, even going beyond Kane’s time as captain. They have always been in the semi-finals and finals.
“I wouldn’t say we are big favorites. New Zealand has a complete squad, while we have been hampered by a lot of injuries.
“If things don’t go according to plan, I still think we’ve come a long way. One of our overall goals, for this generation of cricketers and the next, is to attend tournaments with a real chance of winning.
“Regardless of the injuries we’ve had so far, we continue to believe, act and try to get that trophy.”
Morgan says England has decided who will lead the batting with Jos Buttler in the absence of Roy, but would not make it public until the day of the semifinal.
England will make a final decision on their side’s balance and whether to replace Roy with a batsman or bowler once they have looked down the field at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Morgan also emphasized the importance of their diverse position in England as role models when asked about the tumult in Yorkshire following accusations of racism made by former club player Azeem Rafiq.
Morgan said: “Winning the 2019 World Cup and becoming a more formidable team with a bigger platform has allowed us to continue to tell our stories, to feel comfortable enough in our own skin to play great cricket on the field, but also be a really strong role models.
“Throughout what has happened in Yorkshire, we have continued to chat about how it could affect younger generations. We definitely do not protect players from what is happening, particularly things as serious and relevant to our team as anything that we have done.
“We think of ourselves as younger cricketers. We all come from different backgrounds and we want to be able to share the dream that we have dreamed of for so long as children and that we have been lucky enough to live.
“We want young children to be able to imagine a path and be able to achieve it. The things we do at this World Cup and beyond are very important to contribute to that.
“We accept diversity within our team and we believe we have an advantage over other teams due to the nature of our dressing room and how we accept different cultures.”
Watch England play New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Abu Dhabi, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event starting at 1:30 PM on Wednesday.
