Chasing as the strongest team for the first time in ICC World Cup 2019, England now will face West Indies. And while they have been slaying the most, the Windies clash on June 14 will be a quite difficult one whereas the Barbadian-born young English pacer will be facing his native West Indies for the first time at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground. And the skipper Eoin Morgan knows better than anyone, the emotions Jofra Archer will be facing.
The Dublin born Eoin Morgan had represented Ireland and England in the international cricket. He was the captain of the U-19 World Cup to represent Ireland and ended up being the second highest run-getter of the event. However, his performance for England Lions against South Africa earned him a place by England’s 30-man squad for ICC World T20. And now, it’s been over a decade since he switched sides with Ireland and became a permanent kick for England.
Eoin Morgan knows the emotions Jofra Archer would feel facing Windies
The Southpaw skipper Morgan is all set to march up against the Caribbeans at the Rose Bowl Cricket ground on Friday. Morgan’s team will include the young pacing sensation that has knocked the wind out of Bangladesh in the last match. Young Barbadian pacer, Archer had banked three wickets with two maidens in the 12th match of World Cup 2019. Archer qualified for the premier league earlier this year and can bowl at 95 mph. This constant speed delivered by the young pacer makes him the central figure of England’s bowling squad.
England will be facing the West Indies, who overlooked the talented Archer for the U-19 World Cup four years ago. It was this incident that pushed Archer through the chain of events and climbed up the ladder from the Sussex to the main squad of England. However, heading to their fourth match, skipper Morgan feels great for having Archer by their side.
“I think it is a moment where you reaffirm your decision. The difference is the feel. When you play against guys that you’ve played with at age-group level, it feels like a club game against your mates you’ve known for a long time, compared to playing against strangers. That’s a different feel. Being in that position myself it does feel different. He won’t know how it feels until he plays the game. If I feel the need (to speak to him) I will, but I haven’t yet.”
Morgan backs Archer ahead of the West Indies clash in Southampton on Friday
Nonetheless, Morgan backs Archer for the inevitable scrutiny he’ll be facing in the Windies clash. Morgan believes that Archer is young and has space for improvement. He said that in the past, Archer has been able to quickly come-off of the challenges posted against him.
“Jofra is extremely interesting because everything he has been confronted with, particularly out on the field, he has overcome. He’s still learning, he’s very young, he has a lot of talent, and that is great for us. It’s great that he’s in an England shirt now.”
Meanwhile, Archer had featured for six ODIs with England and has scalped a total of nine wickets till now. Archer will be up against some familiar faces such as West Indies’ captain Jason Holder and Shai Hope. There will also be also Archer’s former youth teammates Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer respectively.
England has won two of the three matches played so far, whereas West Indies defeated Pakistan at the lowest score of the tournament this year. The third match against South Africa was called off due to rain, as each team has bagged a point each. England sits at the fourth position with four points while Windies is at the sixth with just three points.