No excuses offered by England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan after suffering heavy six-wicket defeat
England skipper Eoin Morgan blamed muddled thinking at the crease for his side’s failure to set a defendable total during their six-wicket defeat in yesterday’s opening one-day international against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
In between two collapses which saw England slump to 14-3 and then lose their final five wickets for just 33, Morgan and James Taylor shared a 133-run stand to revive their prospects, although in the end the tourists could only muster 216.
Left-arm seamer Reece Topley led the charge with the ball, reducing Pakistan to 41-3, before England fell foul of Mohammad Hafeez’s 11th one-day hundred as Pakistan won with 38 balls to spare.
“It is important that we learn. The crucial part in playing out here is your first 10 or 20 balls have to be right on the money, your footwork has to be crisp,” said Morgan, whose side trail 1-0 in the four-match series.
“We will emphasise that going into the next game [tomorrow], particularly to the batters because it’s one thing as a team and a batting unit that we haven’t struggled with these last two series so it is a challenge within itself but we’re up for the challenge.
“There’s no point sitting around and sulking, we’ve got to take it on the chin and look forward with a positive attitude.”
After openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales as well as Joe Root fell cheaply, Morgan amassed his ninth score in excess of 50 this calendar year – no England captain has scored more – while Taylor also went past the milestone with two straight sixes.
Despite their formidable Test record in the UAE, Pakistan have only won one of their previous six one-day series in their adopted home, but cantered home despite Topley returning figures 3-26 from nine overs.