Morgan grabs his chance as young Woakes steps up

CRICKET TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL:THE ESSENCE of short cricket, its raison d'etre, is its climax. Too often, even in this briefest form of the game, it is an anticlimax. So it hardly mattered yesterday that Australia's innings stalled when it did, failing to build on Shane Watson's brutal assault, nor that England's faltered when their target should have been little more than a stroll beside the banks of the river Torrens.

This match was made compelling by the failures of both sides. But there were heroes too, and Andy Flower, the England coach, will be grateful for that.

In the context of next month’s World Cup, this Twenty20 game may be seen to have little meaning. But as England have to cull their World Cup party, reducing it from 30 to 15 by Wednesday, by which time they will have played only the first of their seven one-day internationals against Australia, it brimmed with significance.

Flower now knows he has a player – yet another player, dare we say – who bears up to forensic scrutiny. Chris Woakes, only 21 and a surprise selection ahead of Chris Tremlett, was making his international debut but he opened the bowling in the eye of Shane Watson’s storm and survived. And he emerged as a piece of clay might after it has been fired in a kiln.

Then, he showed even greater resilience with the bat, keeping his head when most about him were losing theirs. Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and then Graeme Swann were out to strokes that belied their experience and nous. First Woakes steadied the innings and then, when the rate started to slowly climb like a creeping vine, he clouted Shaun Tait, Australia’s fastest bowler, for a mighty six over midwicket.

And finally he was there at the end. With one run needed from the final delivery he was the man who worked Watson away to leg for the victory run.

But if Woakes announced himself as a player of some substance Flower will be equally delighted with the performance of Eoin Morgan. England were a quality batsman short in their top six and they could not afford Morgan to fail here, even though he had faced only 11 deliveries all tour.

In fact he was England’s leading scorer, with a delightful 43 from 33 deliveries, with five fours and an audacious pulled six.

Woakes can enjoy the headlines but it is Morgan who had Cameron White, the Australia captain, shaking his head with disbelief.

White said: “Eoin’s very skilful isn’t he? He has three or four areas, especially off the spinners, which are very hard to protect. We know he can reverse sweep, so we’ve got to have the point fielder round a long way.

“And he’s developed a shot over extra-cover to get the ball into that big gap, and it takes a lot of skill to do that. And then Dave Hussey bowled a slower one to leg side and he made sure he pulled it wide of the long-on fielder.”

There was enough tedium about Australia’s innings to provoke the observation that Test cricket may be ruining the Twenty20 game.

Guardian Service