Eoin Morgan States His Case for Test Recall with One-Day Runs for England

Back in January, Eoin Morgan announced his intention to take part in this year’s Indian Premier League.

He admitted, per Chris Stocks in the Guardian, that the downside to the decision was that his hopes of earning a Test recall had to be “scaled down a bit.”

Rather than spend the start of the English summer plying his trade in county cricket, the batsman wanted to head out to the subcontinent to take part in a Twenty20 tournament.

However, Morgan’s century for England in the fourth one-dayer against New Zealand may have done more to boost his chances of a Test comeback than any number of runs in domestic action.

Forget about his choice to head off to the IPL—the man can bat.

A 73-ball hundred won’t normally lead to calls for a Test call-up, but the national selectors must have made an extra note or two after witnessing the left-hander’s dazzling display at Trent Bridge.

The Irishman’s knock of 113, which included five sixes and 12 fours, certainly caught the attention of Paudie Griffin on Twitter:

Morgan has made 16 Test appearances for England. He hit two centuries in 24 innings, but a miserable series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates saw him dropped.

When he was left out for the tour to Sri Lanka in 2013, England's director of cricket Andy Flower said of Morgan (via Andy Wilson of the Guardian): "He has got some work to do on his Test game."

He had developed a dipping, spinning manoeuvre, leaving him in a crouched position just before the point of delivery. Thankfully, though, he has gone back to standing still at the crease, instead relying on his tremendous hand speed and ridiculously flexible wrists, rather than any odd-looking trigger movement.

But despite being an integral member of England’s ODI and Twenty20 teams, Morgan is still waiting for another opportunity in Test cricket.

His clean hitting during the day-nighter in Nottingham was a timely reminder of what he’s capable of doing at the highest level, and team-mates Sam Billings and Joe Root—who scored a century himself—and Ben Stokes were certainly impressed:

Morgan's average in the current series against the Kiwis stands at 80.50, with three half-centuries to go with his ton. He has plundered his runs at a strike rate of 125.29 and has hit 16 sixes (Alex Hales sits second on England's list, having managed seven maximums so far).

It is all a far cry from the 2015 Cricket World Cup, where he made a grand total of 90 runs in a dismal tournament that saw England knocked out in the group stage.

Now, though, the 28-year-old is reaping the benefits of playing in an ODI team that is free to express themselves, a team encouraged to play positively and not be paralysed by the fear of failure.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Asked on Sky Sports to give a reason for the change in his own form after the seven-wicket win on Wednesday, he simply said: "It’s more the carefree attitude.”

Having thought his chances of playing in the Ashes were diminished by his trip to the IPL, Morgan is quickly working his way back into contention with his one-day performances.

England also has some concerns over their top six in the Test team.

Gary Ballance struggled in the series against New Zealand, finding it particularly tough going against the left-arm seam of Trent Boult. Australia can send not one, but two lefties at him in the coming months, with Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc in their squad.

Ian Bell, meanwhile, suffered a dramatic batting funk following a first-innings century in the opening Test on the West Indies tour.

He made just 43 runs in four innings against the Kiwis, though he has since plundered 111 after returning to play for Warwickshire, per BBC Sport. 

Both Ballance and Bell have enough credit in the bank (the former averages 52.19, while the latter has hit 22 Test hundreds) to remain in the side for the start of the Ashes.

But, should England suffer a sticky start against Australia, or if a batting spot opens up due to injury or a lack of form, Morgan may just get another crack at Test cricket.