“Last four years have been a process”: Morgan

The last time England played a World Cup final, most of their current players were toddlers and some of them weren’t even born. After 27 years of first making the cut, cricket’s biggest stage is all set for the home team to lift their maiden World Cup trophy at Lord’s on Sunday.

England captain Eoin Morgan was all praise for his team’s all-round performance against Australia in Thursday’s semi-final at Edgbaston. Speaking to the press, the skipper admitted that the England team has had a transformational period of four years. England were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup even before the quarter-finals. Since then, they’ve turned their fortunes around in ODIs and are now recognised as one of the most explosive teams in world cricket.

“If you had offered us the position to play in a final the day after we were knocked out of the 2015 Cup, I would have laughed at you,” Morgan said. “Looking back where we were in 2015 to where we will be on Sunday, it is a dramatic improvement in the style of play and the level of expectation which we’ve created.

Morgan was particularly impressed by Chris Woakes and lauded him for his commendable performance of 3/20 in a crunch semi-final. The captain also praised the record-breaking opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, who have been at the helm of England’s turnaround campaign in this World Cup.

“Chris is a cool customer,” he said. “He goes about his business, day in and day out, exceptionally. Today was his day. He and Jofra Archer were outstanding. It was one of our bowlers’ standout performances in the last four years.”

“Jason and Jonny are in the form of their lives. They are imposing when they get in. And they set the tone for the whole group.”

Commenting on Sunday’s historic clash against New Zealand, Morgan urged his team not to shy away from the occasion and give it their best.

“Sunday’s not a day to shy away from,” Morgan said. “It’s a day to look forward to. We have created the opportunity to play in a World Cup final. It will be a matter of trying to produce everything that we can performance-wise, but enjoy the day.

“It’s an opportunity for us on Sunday. A huge one. Making the most of the opportunity of getting to the final would be fantastic, but just getting there is awesome.”

The captain was also pleased that Sunday’s final will be televised on England’s free-to-air channels.