Eoin Morgan is a natural leader and can follow in footsteps of Bobby Moore and Martin Johnson
BOBBY MOORE, the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from Barking.
And Martin Johnson, the stout yeoman of middle England, and a one-time copper in the Leicestershire Constabulary.
The only two men to captain England to World Cup glory in our major team sports have been as typically English as they come.
Yet if England’s cricketers are finally to lift their World Cup for the first time — a task for which the bookies make them favourites — then this skipper will look and sound a hell of a lot different.
Eoin Morgan is Irish born and bred but switched allegiance to England long before his own nation had been granted Test status.
Morgan took over the England one-day captaincy shortly before the debacle of their early exit from the 2015 competition, since when this streetwise and flinty cricketer has led a complete transformation of their limited-overs game.
While English cricket has enjoyed success under Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, Morgan is reckoned to be the most natural leader of men to have captained an England side, certainly since Michael Vaughan.
Morgan, 32, has long since been earmarked as officer material by the English cricketing establishment in his post-playing career — be that coaching or administration.
EOIN MOORE-GAN
His handling of the Alex Hales affair, which threatened to derail England’s preparations for this World Cup, was brutal but masterful.
When Hales was handed a short suspension last month following a second failed test for recreational drug use, Morgan expected a full apology to the squad.
Yet Hales chose to argue the toss over his treatment by ECB bosses and so Morgan publicly slammed the door, accusing the opening batsman of a "complete disregard for team culture" which had created a "lack of trust".
It says much about England’s batting prowess that a one-day batsman as good as Hales should not be missed at the tournament, which starts when England face South Africa at The Oval today.
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler are pyrotechnic strikers of a cricket ball.
Buttler is one of the most thrilling batsmen to have played the game.
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He has the potential to become an enormous breakthrough star in a sport which has struggled for profile in England since disappearing from terrestrial TV screens since Vaughan recaptured the Ashes in 2005.
This 46-day tournament, featuring the world’s best ten teams in one enormous round-robin before semi- finals and a final, is twice as long as it should be.
But then Indian TV rules the sport, a situation which will never change with a billion people ready to watch there.
Virat Kohli’s men will be the biggest threat to England.
But with Morgan at the wheel, England are finally capable of ruling the world — and even a few Irish eyes will be smiling.
