ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 5, 2021

Eoin Morgan

Sharjah Stadium

England

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Appreciate it's a big weekend for you, but for a captain who's spoken so well about inclusion and diversity over the years, I wonder what you've made from afar about how the Azeem Rafiq case has developed this week and how the ECB have subsequently stepped in.

EOIN MORGAN: Good morning. Yeah, first and foremost for probably more so the last two to three years, our culture has been built around inclusivity and diversity. It's actually been quite a strong part of our game.

For that period of time in particular, we've been active about talking and actioning things that show meaningful change.

We're very serious about it.

We firmly believe that there is no place in our sport for any type of discrimination. I think the actions of ECB board to Yorkshire have indicated how serious they are about dealing with issues like this and obviously resulting in their actions, because obviously those actions speak louder than words. They have been taking it in a serious manner.

From our point of view as a team, we can only do so much in role modeling what we believe is right, because yes, we talk about it, but equally we want to do things that make a difference. I believe that we've made huge strides forward as a group in doing that in various parts of our game, and we've found things that are not only, I suppose, pushing things forward, taking the cart forward, but also feel very authentic to individuals and where they've come from and the journeys that they've been on.

Q. When you speak about meaningful change, and obviously you've been very consistent in taking the knee before games, you've obviously worn tee shirts before matches in England, would that feel not futile but less significant had those above you not stepped in as well in something like this?

EOIN MORGAN: There's only so much that we can do as a team. I think having had a lot of chats with the team, I've been a part of the significant change that we feel will lead to something that will be bigger than any of our careers or any trophies that we win.

(Indiscernible) at the moment to try and achieve. It's not perfect, but we're making good ground towards change that we want implemented.

Outside of that, we're actually limited to what we can achieve, but I think continuing to give that strong message in particularly our moment of unity and any opportunity to speak to you guys and I suppose be ourselves ultimately. I think in teams you have to be able to be yourself. It should feel a little bit like being at home. Obviously it won't feel like being at home, but being around your family, you should be, I suppose, relaxed and given that freedom to be able to feel comfortable in your own skin.

Q. And from the individual's perspective, do you support moves of not allowing players to play for England if they're found to be involved in things like this? Gary Ballance is not someone necessarily you would have selected in the near future, but if other players nearer to your group did the same thing or allegedly did the same thing, you'd support that?

EOIN MORGAN: Here I think the decision that was taken at the start of last summer in a similar instance with Ollie Robinson is consistent with the board's decision with Gary Ballance.

I haven't thought deeply about it. Obviously the actions that the players have taken are ones that they have said they've done, so obviously there's cloudy water there if there are allegations as opposed to things that have actually happened.

Q. I guess from your perspective and as a captain, we've heard a lot about how dressing rooms are, but if anything of this nature was to happen within your dressing room, it would be something that you would step in with immediately I guess?

EOIN MORGAN: I think the responsibility within our changing room falls on every player. I think that's the -- we're always asked why aren't we doing things that are seen to be what everybody else is doing. The answer within that is that it has to feel authentic to the group because if something happens within the group and people don't feel like they have a share in it, they won't act on it.

Within our group at the moment, I feel confident enough that guys would act individually and they wouldn't respond or feel like one of the senior players that a coach has to step in in an instance that I think you're alluding to.

Q. You've lost Tymal Mills for the rest of the tournament; how much of a blow is that? And with David and Reece in the squad now, could it be a lifelike switch tomorrow?

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, I'm gutted for Tymal. He's been on such a roller coaster of a journey, and I think this is probably the highest point he's been at on that roller coaster through terrible injury and I suppose incredible attitude and resilience that he's shown to come back from each and every one of them to take his career to contributing to us hopefully getting through to the last stages of a World Cup is an incredible achievement.

For it to come at this time in his career, I'm devastated for him.

As regards replacements, I think we'll take another 24 hours to have a look at guys coming through. Obviously Tom Curran, Mark Wood, David Willey and Reece become options. David has been in consideration now for every game that we've played, and we've chosen to go with an allrounder instead of four seniors. We'll turn up to Sharjah tomorrow and hopefully make a good call for the team.

Q. That knock in Sharjah you had the other day, does it feel like it might have loosened you up a little bit? I know you said afterwards that you never really felt in, but it was clearly important in the context of the game. Does it pump up your tires a little bit ahead of tomorrow?

EOIN MORGAN: I think it gives me confidence that I've still got the drive that I feel that I have to win a game for us no matter the situation. I certainly don't think it's a wicket where you can take a lot of confidence away from batting quite a period of time on it. I don't think many of the guys felt in regardless of how they batted. But certainly being in that fight for tomorrow's game is going to be extremely important if the wicket stays the same.

Q. While there's a lot of players in your squad who will be keeping an eye on what's been going on at Yorkshire, you've got a few guys who have got direct connections, involvement there as players at the club. In particular I guess Adil Rashid is really kind of involved directly with some of the allegations that have been made and denied. How are you looking after him and how this may or may not be affecting him, knowing that at some point I guess he really is going to be kind of dragged into the heart of this?

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, Adil is one of our players that on a normal scheme of things doesn't require a lot of support. I think given what's happened so close to home for him, I think it's great that he does have a great support network around him, and the team is here, his family are here, which is fantastic. But there's no indication at the moment that anything out of the ordinary is happening. Obviously being away in a different country obviously detaches you slightly from things as opposed to being at home, but certainly he's a guy that has obviously very close with Azeem Rafiq having grown up at Yorkshire, but he's traveling okay at the moment.

Q. You're not worried it might have any impact on his performance in the upcoming games considering how well he's going at the moment, bowling pretty nicely?

EOIN MORGAN: No, I'm not concerned at all.

Q. Just on the cricket, how disappointed are you that I guess something so fantastic as four wins from four and a chance to win a World Cup is being kind of overshadowed by things out of your control? I guess cricket is on the front and back pages for the wrong reason rather than your performances.

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, to be honest I think if they're matters of an extreme or serious nature like these are, they need to be met head on, and for us as a team, that's exactly what we want to see. Obviously the investigation is ongoing and live at the moment, so only time will tell what happens, but I think the actions by the board have demonstrated how seriously the ECB are taking how this has been handled.

Yes, we want to see this brought in a great light, but equally if there is an issue as serious as this, we want it dealt with, as well.

Q. You mentioned Mark Wood as one of your team bowling options. Can you just confirm that he's kind of come through everything he needs to have done and is available for the game?

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, I can't confirm that yet. We're going to go through another training session to see. It's not until 6:00 so it'll be quite late. We'll probably see how everybody pulls up to the game tomorrow to make a decision.

Obviously when you have quick bowlers at your disposal, you really want them to be firing, and I think when it comes to managing them, you also need to be patient. Obviously with Tymal missing out, you're constantly reminded that they're such huge assets for us that need to be well looked after, and we've done that with Mark Wood throughout his whole career, within this group, and we'll take time if needed to make the call tomorrow.

Q. When you look at T20 cricket at the moment and this tournament, these conditions, is a sort of proper express pace bowler something you feel you need to have in your attack?

EOIN MORGAN: That's a good question. I think if you look at teams around the tournament, they've sort of all done it a little bit differently depending on the grounds that they've played at. Certainly for us as a group we've always had a guy who's within the bowling unit who's either given you a left-arm option or a 90-mile-an-hour option. It's been great to have both recently, but certainly we need to figure out which is going to be more effective, both at Sharjah and then if we progress either in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

Q. I suppose that makes Tymal a very big loss because he's offering both?

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, it does, it does. Yeah, he's been great. I can't talk highly enough of him. He's such a humble guy who is really hurt by the news of his scan.

Q. South African cricket has gone through its own troubles regarding racial injustices over the last while and they're currently undergoing a social nation bullying hearings at the moment. Do you think English cricket would need something like that to basically get to the root of all the problems that have gone on in the past?

EOIN MORGAN: To be honest it's not something I've thought of. It's obviously very relevant for the country that it's happening in. I think for us, we're seeing a number of different diverse cultures come through and tell their stories at a time when it's more relevant and actually a time where people are wanting to make change, so I can't really talk any more about it because I don't know any more about South Africa's position.

Q. You've played South Africa quite a few times over the last couple of years. Just the way they've gone at this World Cup, have you seen any improvement in where they were maybe 12 months ago?

EOIN MORGAN: I think they're a dangerous side. I think when you look at them from a squad point of view, they have, I suppose, everything at their disposal that you need at a World Cup like this where wickets are potentially getting slower and lower throughout the tournament. So it's a matter of finding, I suppose, what works for them given conditions.

Q. Your four wins in the group so far have allowed you to approach the last game in a slightly different frame of mind potentially. It's the last game in the group. You'll know exactly what you need to do. Do you think there will be any change in mindset going into this game because of that at all?

EOIN MORGAN: No, not at all. We're going into the game wanting to win, and given some of the situations we've been through in the past, we know how difficult it is to win a World Cup game itself without adding different permutations throughout the course of that. We've watched teams throughout this World Cup not even being in the contest at some stages, so we know how difficult it is to get in that contest and then to try and go and do what your team needs to try and win the game.

Q. I guess we've had in the tournament so far, you've had a few games where you've made winning look quite easy, and then on your last visit to Sharjah you had to battle a bit. Was there a difference just in the atmosphere in the dressing room after those wins? Is there a difference between winning easy and winning hard?

EOIN MORGAN: I think the difference within the group is just -- reflects the closer that we get to maybe qualifying and the opportunity that lies ahead. I'm a firm believer that in group stage it's so easy to get things wrong because every team has to fight tooth and nail to get through from there, and then when or if you do get through, there's a lot of a release of any pressure that's been applied by itself or anybody outside of the group.

I think our win at Sharjah was as tough a win as we've ever had as a T20 group, so the satisfaction within that was significant. Winning against Australia was a huge game for us.

Q. Cricket has once in a decade a side which everyone is looking for, in particular this decade, England is a side which every fan and every team is looking for, especially in the limited over cricket. Do you also take pride to lead this particular English side who have a success rate as compared to the previous English sides?

EOIN MORGAN: Yeah, I take huge pride in leading the team. One of the things that makes me extremely proud is that regardless of how well we've done or how poorly we've done, guys have always wanted to get better. They're not really that interested in standing still or spending too much time reflecting on what has been and gone. They want to continue to get better because they know that once you lose that drive in trying to achieve things individually and as a team, it has a big repercussion effect on the wider game and throughout our country.