Eoin Morgan Defends Receiving Coded Information From Team Analyst On Field
Updated - 03 Dec 2020, 09:47 PM
England captain Eoin Morgan defended his team receiving signals from the dressing room to help make better decisions on the field. His remarks have come after England’s analyst Nathan Leamon was seen sending a coded information to him during the third ODI against South Africa earlier this week.
The analyst hung a series of letters and numbers from the balcony of the England dressing room. The information was a combination of a letter and number. Some of the codes were ‘C3’, ‘4E’. It was being done in order to help Eoin Morgan’s decisions in terms of bowling combinations as per the game situation.
The signals given by Leamon suggested as to who should be bowling the next over and a possible field setting. The incident drew mixed reactions with former England skipper Michael Vaughan making it clear that he was not at all impressed with it. However, Eoin Morgan has defended the team’s strategy, saying that there was nothing against the spirit of the game.
“Captains are different. You get captains that really enjoy the title, the power, and the accolades that go with it, and then you have other captains that continue to be pushed and want to learn for the benefit of the team.
“For me, this is a system that we’re going to use to try and help myself and the other leaders in the side, to take the emotion of the decision-making on the field and compare that to the hard data that is continuing to feed data into us, and the guys off the field,” Eoin Morgan said on the eve of the first ODI against the Proteas.
“There weren’t many decisions that varied: I think there were three in the first game, two in the second game, and a couple in the third. It’s nice to know that the majority of the decisions that myself, Jos, and the bowlers on the field were making actually replicate what we feel is right in the game.
“100 per cent, it’s within the spirit of the game. There’s nothing untoward about it. It’s about maximising the information that we’re taking in, and measuring it against things like coaches’ recommendations, the data, what’s going on. We’re definitely going to continue with it, and give it enough of a sample size to see if it makes a difference to, or improves, our decision-making on the field or our performance,” he added.
Meanwhile, England will be looking to continue their fine show in South Africa. The Eoin Morgan-led side whitewashed South Africa in the three-match T20I series and will be keen to continue the same form in the upcoming three-match ODI series, beginning Friday.
