'Archer will get World Cup audition against Pakistan' - Morgan
The tournament favourites are unbeaten in their last ten bilateral one-day international series and are the number one ranked side in ODI cricket, but the emergence of Barbados-born Jofra Archer has complicated selection matters with just over two months to go until the opening match of this summer's World Cup.
Archer, who qualified to play for England earlier this month after the England and Wales Cricket Board relaxed its residency rules, has exploded onto the world scene with extraordinary performances in limited-overs tournaments, and Morgan refused to shut the door on the 23-year-old's World Cup hopes.
“It’s not about a winning formula,” said England limited-overs captain Morgan, who was on hand to welcome fans to the first Super Saturday during the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan, as the trophy took centre stage in Manchester’s Exchange Square.
“That is behind us almost and we need to continue using the confidence we have earned to drive things forward and if it is about including someone that’s going to add value then we’ll do it.
“The hype about Jofra playing around the world and doing well and attracting a lot of attention is justified as he has put in performances that warrant looking at.
“Trevor Bayliss said after the West Indies series we will look at him against Pakistan [who England play in five ODIs in May] and that’s what we will do.
“We don’t have to name our [World Cup] squad until the end of the Pakistan series so we’ll have a look and see how he goes.”
As tournament hosts, all the pressure will be on England this summer, especially after a hugely disappointing World Cup campaign in 2015 where Morgan’s team failed to make it out of the group stage.
The last four years, though, have seen Morgan mastermind a brilliant turnaround in fortunes, with an expansive front-foot style coming to the fore and the Middlesex batsman is happy to carry the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders.
“You can’t ignore it but we’ve prepared for going into the World Cup as favourites," added Morgan.
“It’s something which sits absolutely fine with us. The reason it is there is because of the success we’ve had in the past but that’s all in the past now and our focus needs to be on what’s to come and the things we need to do.”
With the weight of expectation high and the countdown until the big kick-off well and truly underway, you may be forgiven for thinking Morgan is a bag of nerves.
He is anything but, as England put the finishing touches to their battle plan for the opener against South Africa at The Oval on 30 May.
“There are no nerves, I think it’s more excitement,” he said.
“There’s a huge opportunity for us to go and continue playing the cricket we have done over the last three and a half years off the back of a challenging tour to the West Indies where we were tested in every department.
“I think, sitting here right now, we’re equipped really well. We still have one game in Dublin against Ireland and our games at home against Pakistan in the build-up to the World Cup so there’s plenty of cricket to be played but all the focus is going to be on the competition.”