Captain Morgan says England can inspire new generation of cricketers with World Cup glory
EOIN MORGAN wants his players to become heroes to a generation of kids as they aim to rule the world.
Captain Morgan believes victory in the World Cup would encourage countless thousands of boys and girls to take up cricket.
The likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Morgan himself can be torch-bearers over the next decade.
We have said this sort of stuff before — notably before the cataclysmic home World Cup in 1999 — but this time England are favourites and ranked No1 on the planet.
They really could win it.
So, with the curtain-raiser against South Africa at The Oval today, Morgan was in confident mood and happy to be in charge of the favourites.
When asked what winning the World Cup would mean to English cricket, Morgan said: “It would mean a huge amount.
"The World Cup raises the profile of the game and can be a platform for every kid in this country to have a hero or inspiration to pick up a ball or a bat.”
We want to inspire cricket fans and enhance their love for the game as well as encourage new people and children to pick up a bat.
Jos Buttler
And vice-captain Jos Buttler echoed the sentiment, saying: “This summer is the biggest opportunity for cricket in this country, possibly ever, to engage with new fans.
“We want to inspire cricket fans and enhance their love for the game as well as encourage new people and children to pick up a bat.”
Morgan knows that anything less than victory — or at least reaching the final — will be classed as failure. His experience of the 2017 Champions Trophy teaches him that.
The expectation was put into sharp focus when national football boss Gareth Southgate spent several hours with the England players this month at their pre-season training camp in Wales.
Morgan explained: “We had a session with Gareth and it was brilliant.
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"He talked about his journey with the team around last year’s football World Cup and how they came together as a group.
“I think everybody involved with our team over the last four years recognised that, how we’ve tried to do things differently.
“It’s amazing. He did brilliantly, got to the semi- final and everybody says it’s great. We got knocked out of the Champions Trophy semi-final and we were c**p!”
Morgan added: “We have spoken about being favourites. The favourites’ tag is there for a reason — over two years, our form at home in particular has been outstanding.
“In previous World Cups that myself and a couple of the guys have played, we went in with little expectation and did not play well.”
England need a minimum of five wins from nine round robin matches to reach the semi-finals. That should be a breeze.
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Their batting is power-packed, they have pace and movement in their attack, two high-class spinners and bat all the way down the order.
No other team has such balance and variety.
Liam Plunkett is poised to win the final bowling berth against South Africa today.
England do not want to risk speedster Mark Wood after he suffered discomfort in his left foot during last Saturday’s warm-up against Australia.
Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes are certain to play. And Plunkett, 34, is expected to be given the nod over Tom Curran.
