Eoin Morgan Can Lead England to the Semi-Finals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup
Eoin Morgan can defy his critics and help England overcome the odds to reach the semi-finals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, as long as they avoid finishing fourth in Pool A.
The top-four sides in the seven-strong pool will qualify for the quarter-finals. There, they will meet the four best sides of Pool B. The pools are as follows:
| Pool A | Pool B |
| Afghanistan | India |
| Australia | Ireland |
| Bangladesh | Pakistan |
| England | South Africa |
| New Zealand | United Arab Emirates |
| Scotland | West Indies |
| Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe |
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In the quarter-finals, the team who finished first in Pool A will face off against the team who finished fourth in Pool B, A2 will face B3, A3 will face B2 and A4 will face B1.
South Africa are overwhelming favourites in Pool B and enter the World Cup in strong form. Although they lost their final warm-up match against New Zealand on Wednesday, the Proteas defeated Sri Lanka before that and won four of their five matches in their recent series against West Indies, often in style.
Not to mention the quality that pervades their team: AB de Villiers, perhaps the most talented player set to feature at the tournament; Hashim Amla, ranked behind only De Villiers in the ICC ODI player rankings; and Dale Steyn, the highest-ranked bowler at the World Cup.
With South Africa almost certainly set to finish top of Pool B, England must finish at least third in Pool A to avoid them. Should the teams meet in the quarter-final, England would surely be knocked out.
The rest of Pool B, however, are beatable. Of the remaining teams, India, Pakistan and West Indies are the likely quarter-final contenders.
England beat India twice in the Tri-Series that preceded the World Cup, and the Men in Blue have won just one of their five ODIs in 2015, against lowly Afghanistan.
Pakistan have been inconsistent of late, so a win over the Men in Green is highly possible despite the warm-up defeat they inflicted on England.
West Indies have played seven ODIs this year and were soundly beaten in all but two. The victories came against a depleted South Africa side and Scotland.
Despite England's mixed form, they have little to fear in these sides.
To ensure England face one of these teams and not South Africa, Morgan will be vital.
The one-day captain has faced criticism of late, owing to a downturn in his batting form. Since his impressive 121-run haul against Australia on 16 January, Morgan has managed just two runs in four outings and been dismissed for a duck on three occasions.
However, the Dublin-born left-hander is not concerned about his dip in form.
Per BBC Sport, he said: "It's only five games ago that I scored a hundred, so I don't have to look that far back to reconnect with what works well for me."
The 28-year-old has appeared to be a natural and popular leader. Joe Root, who hit 85 from 89 balls in England's last outing, insists Morgan has the backing of the squad.
Per Mike Selvey of the Guardian, Root said: "He is a fine player and leader. One thing he always does is perform when the pressure is on. He will score a lot of runs and everyone is convinced that will be the case. He is the one we turn to when the chips are down."
In January, Morgan was targeted by a bizarre blackmail scandal. As noted by Paul Newman of the Daily Mail, Morgan remained calm and composed despite the distressing situation.
This coolness under pressure will help Morgan thrive in his leadership role and will serve him well at the World Cup.
Though his batting performance undoubtedly needs to improve, Morgan has helped the team in other ways.
His rotation of the bowlers has been impressive, with seamers Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Steven Finn all enjoying positive spells. Morgan has also made use of spinners such as Moeen Ali and the medium pace of Ravi Bopara.
On Australian pitches, pace will be the key, so England will rely on Anderson and Co. However, England play three of their group matches in New Zealand, where it will be necessary to mix things up a bit.
Morgan's willingness to try different bowling styles will be invaluable in those games, and Ali and Bopara can be brought in to deadly effect.
Between positive captaincy, strong bowling form and the attacking threat of Ian Bell, Root and Ali, England have enough about them to finish in the top three of Pool A.
Doing so will almost certainly mean they avoid South Africa in the quarter-finals. In that scenario, England, who haven't won a knockout game at a World Cup since 1992, can make history by reaching the semi-finals.
Anything further is beyond Morgan's men at this moment in time, but 2015 could see England turn an important corner in one-day cricket.
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