WI VS ENG: England Captain Eoin Morgan Ruled Out of Final Two T20Is
WI VS ENG: England captain Eoin Morgan will miss the final two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) series against West Indies, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Thursday.
West Indies are 2-1 up in the five-match series after winning the first and the third T20I.
Morgan missed the third T20I as well at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday (Jan. 26) due to a low-grade quadriceps injury. In Morgan’s absence, Moeen Ali captained England in the third match, which England lost by 20 runs.
“Morgan sat out the third T20 in Barbados on Wednesday night after he felt pain in his right quad during the warm-up. Follow-up testing revealed he sustained a right thigh muscle injury which, whilst relatively minor, will prevent him from playing further games during the current tour,” ECB said in a statement.
Morgan was not at his best form as he scored a 29-ball 17 in the first T20I and followed that up with 13 off 12 in the second match. Moeen, who didn’t play the first game, bagged the Player of the Match in the second T20I for his knock of 31 off 24. He also claimed three wickets as England clinched a close one-run victory. Read our betting tips for cricket and get the latest news and updates here.
WI VS ENG: Moeen didn’t have the best game as captain in 3rd T20I
However, Moeen did not have a great game as captain in the third T20I. He bowled only one over in the match, conceding 14 runs off the 224 scored by the home side, courtesy of Rovman Powell’s maiden T20I century.
Half-centuries from Tom Banton and Philip Salt helped England cross 200 but the visitors could not cross the line. During the chase, skipper Moeen was dismissed for a duck.
“The guys played very well, more so with us having three debutants. They batted well, they were powerful and kept coming at us. This was a better wicket, the smaller boundaries and the wind blowing on one side, the partnership took the game away from us, but we were in the game for a long time and I’m happy for the boys.
“Salt was outstanding, hopefully going forward this will help him a lot, we know what he can do at the domestic level. We’re still confident about making a comeback into the series,” Moeen said in the post-match interview.
The fourth and fifth T20Is will be played on Jan. 29 and 30 respectively. Following that, there is a four-day practice match ahead of the three-match Test series in March. Check our cricket match prediction for free.
