Morgan blames pitch for England’s record-breaking collapse against South Africa

Tags: South Africa tour of England 2017, England, South Africa, England Vs South Africa 3rd ODI at London, May 29, 2017, Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan

Published on: May 31, 2017

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England collapsed in the third ODI against South Africa at Lord’s. But, skipper Eoin Morgan felt it was more to do

England collapsed in the third ODI against South Africa at Lord’s. But, skipper Eoin Morgan felt it was more to do with the pitch rather than their batsmen as the conditions were unfairly loaded in favour of the bowlers.
England crumbled to 20 for 6 in five overs, and there was no where back for the hosts, despite a fighting knock by Jonny Bairstow. Morgan praised South Africa's seamers - Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell, but added in the post-match analysis, "I'd be disappointed if we did come across surfaces like that in the ICC Champions Trophy.”
Morgan added, "To win or lose the game on the toss in a major tournament is hard to take. Any side batting first has the potential to lose the game.
"I don't think it was an ODI wicket. It makes it one-sided which I don't think is good for anybody. There was a lot of live, green grass on the wicket.
"We saw the shots they played when they batted. We couldn't play shots like that early this morning.
"But South Africa bowled beautifully. They did not give us anything to hit and if they did we managed to nick it. Credit goes to South Africa, they came back really well."
Despite the collapse, Morgan did not agree that his batsman took an over-aggressive approach. "You earn the right to play positive cricket. And we do need to keep our feet on the ground. But we didn't play too aggressively. A lot of our shots were defensive shots. When it moves around like that, you nick the half-volleys,” he said.
--By A Cricket Correspondent

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