LONDON: Captain Eoin Morgan admitted that England had the rub of the green after prevailing over New Zealand in a thriller. “We had Allah with us, as well. I spoke to Adil Rashid, he said Allah was definitely with us. It actually epitomises our team. Quite diverse backgrounds and cultures and guys grow up in different countries and to actually find humour in the situation we were in at times was pretty cool,” said Morgan, an Irishman. England are a multicultural team built in the image of the nation.
Stokes superhuman
Three years after Carlos Brathwaite had launched Ben Stokes into the Kolkata night four times in as many balls to wrest the World Twenty20 from England’s hands, Stokes did the same to New Zealand with his unbeaten 84 followed by eight of England’s 15 in the Super Over.
All Morgan could do was admire him. “To come through it is extraordinary. (Ben) is almost superhuman. He really carried the team and our batting line-up. I know Jos (Buttler) and his partnership was extraordinary, but to bat with the lower order the way he did, I thought was incredible. The atmosphere, the emotion that was going through the whole game, he managed to deal with that in an extremely experienced manner. And obviously everybody watching at home will hopefully try and be the next Ben Stokes.
“I have said this a number of times about Ben. I think a lot of careers would have been ended after what happened in Calcutta.
“Ben on numerous occasions has stood up individually and in a unit for us. He leads the way in training, in any team meetings we have, and he’s incredible. And we are thankful for that.”
Morgan enters hallowed territory as an English World Cup-winning captain, joining the likes of Bobby Moore and Martin Johnson.
He was quick to play down those comparisons, insisting he will be happy to continue the quiet life, even after leading England to a victory whose repercussions for cricket in this country will continue long after his career has come to an end. I’m not sure (my life has changed). I hope it hasn’t changed that much. I enjoy my life. I lead quite a quiet one, so I hope it hasn’t changed too much. I would love it to change for everybody else who wants it to change, but I enjoy my life.”
