England’s limited over skipper Eoin Morgan has urged his team to win the series 3-0 by giving their best of the performances for the side in a bid to prepare for the upcoming Champions Trophy at home which is scheduled between June 1-18.
Morgan’s men will take the field on Friday (March 3) in their three-match One-day International series against the West Indies in Antigua.
“It’s a series I’d like to win 3-0. If we produce our best I’d like to think that we’d be there or thereabouts. We do have one eye on the Champions Trophy,” on the eve of the series opener Morgan was quoted as saying by English media.
The hosts’ are missing their star players in the form of Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine.
The visitors are seen as favourites even after they lost the recently concluded three-match ODI series against India by 2-1.
“We want to get ourselves back into the habit of winning and getting ourselves over the line,” Morgan added.
England had a decent progress in the 50-over format in the recent past with every player contributing to the team.
“I’d like to think we have the attributes to win it, it’s a matter of getting results and producing our best. The way we have been playing the last two years or so, you want the competition to hurry up and come,” Morgan said.
However, under the new coaching structure, the Windies team has two potential and experienced candidates in the form of skipper Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite in the frame to play the significant role for the national team alongside youngsters.
“The way we play isn’t exactly easy to adapt to West Indian conditions. It’s a different challenge. That doesn’t mean to say we still can’t score 350 or 300, but certainly it won’t be as free-flowing as it has been,” Morgan further said.
The 28-year-old Brathwaite was the nightmare for England all-rounder Ben Stokes in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup Triumph at Kolkata when he smashed four consecutive sixes off Stokes over.
“When you play against an inexperienced side, certainly internationally, you always have to be wary, that’s why we’ve got to be at our best,” Morgan remarked.
England is also missing players in their line-up owing to the injuries. Fast-bowler Steve Finn is making a return to ODIs since 2015.
“We’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries, particularly to the bowlers,” Morgan concluded.
Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo missed-out the series following the disputes with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
The 2017 Champions Trophy will start between the hosts and Bangladesh in a Group A match on June 1 at the Kennington Oval in London