ICC World Cup 2019: Eoin Morgan Reveals How Brendon McCullum Inspired Him

England was knocked out of the 2015 World Cup in the initial stages. They were underprepared and could not live up to the expectations of the coveted tournament. It was surprising as England were expected to do well. They had crumbled under the pressure and it was a forgettable tournament for the English team. However, England’s skipper Eoin Morgan was able to turn the tables and he gave credit to Brendon McCullum who had led New Zealand to the final of the 2015 World Cup.

England played ruthless cricket after going down like a pack of cards in the 2015 World Cup. They rose from the Ashes and came up with consistent performances in the last four years. Subsequently, the players began to get more confidence and the same was palpable in their renditions. Eoin Morgan who has led from the front deserves a lot of credit for the turnaround.

Eoin Morgan led with aplomb.

Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum had led New Zealand with aplomb in the 2015 World Cup. McCullum had given the freedom to his players and he was able to get the best out of his players.

“If you look at his (McCullum’s) body language at any stage of any game, it’s extremely positive. He’s always on the front foot and leading from the front regardless of the scoreboard or the situation of the game,” Morgan told BBC Sport.

“I like to pick his brain. As a pure leader, he’s exceptional. New Zealand cricket had embodied playing fun cricket under McCullum. Playing against them, we were a little bit jealous,” he said.

Eoin Morgan also shared his poor experience of the 2015 World Cup when England was knocked out. Morgan said that he clearly remembers two matches which they should have won but they ended on the wrong side of the result as they could not handle the pressure.

“We were humiliated. There are two games which stand out for me in that World Cup which confirmed we were underprepared and so far off the mark — the first one was against New Zealand. We were bowled out for 123 and New Zealand knocked them off in 12.2 overs.

“The second moment was the game against Bangladesh. We were chasing 275, and we were more than capable of chasing it down — it was on a good wicket and against Bangladesh, who we had beaten previously in a one-day series. When it came to every crunch moment in the chase, however, we fell short. We crumbled,” said the 32-year-old.

Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan also gave credit to England cricket director, Andrew Strauss who decided to back Morgan despite team’s poor performance in the World Cup. Thus, Morgan received a shot in the arm and began a new inning with his team.

Strauss had put his weight behind Morgan.

“He gave me absolute clarity that we needed to change things drastically and he would give us time to change them. In the 2015 World Cup, there was a drastic change in the move towards higher scores. Scores moved from 300 to 330 on an average and that meant you had to change everyone’s default mode,” he said.

England is considered as one of the favourites to lift the 2019 World Cup. The hosts will have the home advantage under their belt and they would like to play up to their potential. England will kick off their World Cup campaign against South Africa at Kennington Oval on 30th May.