Former England captain Eoin Morgan believes the country can go down as one of the great limited-overs sides in history after their dramatic T20 World Cup victory in Melbourne.
England chased down 138 to claim a nail-biting five-wicket victory at the MCG, with player-of-the-match Sam Curran taking 3-12 before an unbeaten half-century from Ben Stokes saw them home with an over to spare.
The latest success sees them become the first men’s team to hold the ODI and T20 World Cups simultaneously, with Morgan – who skippered the 50-over side when they were crowned world champions at Lord’s in 2019 – believing England warrant all the plaudits they get.
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“In T20 they’ve now won something tangible to be regarded as one of the great sides. They were excellent.”
Stokes ‘a complete luxury’ for England
Stokes anchored the England innings with his 52 not out from 49 balls, with his latest display drawing comparisons with his match-winning performance in the 2019 World Cup victory over New Zealand.
“Ben is just such a special player,” Morgan added. “In big games he continues to stand up for his country when his country needs him. That is such an incredible skill to have.
“When something has the potential to go awry, Ben is the guy that thinks coolly and calmly under pressure and makes brilliant decisions. He’s done it so many times now.
“At certain stages of my captaincy I did take it [Stokes’ role] for granted because he continued to be able to produce under pressure all the time.
“He always wants to be in the game and is that player who continually nags you to get in the high-pressure moments. It’s a complete luxury to have a guy like Ben Stokes at your disposal.”
Curran ‘extraordinary’ in England’s victory
Curran was voted player of the tournament after claiming 13 wickets at an average of 11.38, with the 24-year-old impressing throughout the Super 12 stage before holding a pivotal role in both Thursday’s semi-final against India and the final with Pakistan.
“It [Curran’s World Cup performance] is extraordinary,” Morgan explained. “He really has been a find in all parts of the game. Jos Buttler has brought him on in the powerplay, used him through the middle and the biggest plus has been his death bowling.
“He has really stood up and bowled with a huge amount of skill and clarity. To produce in a World Cup final is extraordinary from someone that young. When his team needed him, Sam Curran did it today.”
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Michael Atherton feels England are favourites to win the T20 World Cup – but says that Pakistan are ‘very dangerous’ as they try to repeat their 1992 triumph at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“This team deserves it,” Morgan said. “They’ve been through the mill in the group stages and they’ve produced close to their very best against India in the semi-final.
“Jos Buttler said, ‘We don’t want to be known as a team just for our style of play’. We were known like that in 50 overs then won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.