Birthday special: Eoin Morgan – From Irish talent to English legend
March 17, 2007- Eoin Morgan had every reason to rejoice as Ireland had defeated Pakistan in a World Cup contest at the Sabina Park in Jamaica. On the personal front, he didn’t have a great day as Mohammad Sami trapped him plumb in front after he scored two off 11 balls. However, even 14 years down the line, the victory has stayed afresh in the memories of the Irish cricket fans.
Even as Ireland cricket has come a long way forward, Morgan isn’t a part of their setup anymore. After spending three years in the Irish camp, the southpaw forayed into England cricket. Following his successful stints for Middlesex, the left-handed Morgan played his first match for the Three Lions in an ODI against the West Indies on May 24, 2009, at the County Ground in Bristol.
Eoin Morgan garnering laurels in limited-overs cricket
From there on, he didn’t look back. Although his Test career came to a halt in 2012, Morgan kept weaving magic in the limited-overs formats for the Brits. In 2015, Morgan became England’s ODI skipper under bizarre circumstances. In 2014, the ECB let go Alastair Cook and Morgan was given the role of captaincy two months before the 2015 edition of the World Cup.
England had a disastrous outing as Bangladesh knocked them out ahead of the quarterfinal. However, from there on, Morgan has changed the face of England cricket. So much so that he led his team to World Cup glory in 2019 after a thrilling final against New Zealand at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. In ODIs and T20Is, the Three Lions managed to gain invincibility to some extent.
Nearing 35, Morgan is well and truly at the fag end of his career. The Dublin-born is also set to lead England in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. Prior to that, Morgan will be in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League in the UAE.
Morgan is currently the leading run-scorer for England in ODIs, having scored 6957 runs at an average of 40.21. Going by his numbers, it won’t spring a surprise if he goes on to captain England in ODIs and T20Is in the next two to three years.
