Eoin Morgan a sure bet to help England overcome Sri Lanka
Published:The England selectors are hoping Eoin Morgan can help fire England to an opening test win against Sri Lanka in Cardiff this week.
The Middlesex batsman has been preferred to Ravi Bopara as a replacement for Paul Collingwood as England look to justify their status as 4/5 favourites.
Speaking to BBC Sport, England selector, Geoff Miller, said: “This is an opportunity for him to cement his place.
“Obviously there are one or two others, as we’ve always said we wanted, knocking on the door, but on this occasion Eoin got the nod.
“We’ve got a lot of players now who are just on the fringe there, in all areas with bat and ball and with the gloves as well. There’s plenty of opportunities for people to get in, but it’s difficult because we will always be consistent.”
Morgan can be a thrilling player to watch and the selectors will no doubt be hoping he can continue his impressive IPL form with England.
The rest of the test team has a familiar look about it with many of the victorious Ashes side retaining their places.
This is a big test for Kevin Pietersen. The England batsman left the Ashes tour with an injury – despite being told he could continue with the injury the way it was.
With an average of around just 40 runs for the last 21 test matches, Pietersen needs to start piling on the runs in order to cement his place in the team – such is England’s strength in depth that very few players are guaranteed to feature all the time.
It’s hard to see England slipping up though n this opening test and the 4/5 for them to win in Cardiff looks like a bet well worth taking on.
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