30 June,2019 07:48 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
England's Jason Roy during a net session in Birmingham. Pic/AFP
Birmingham: The England team had an intense practice session on the eve of their crucial clash against India here at Edgbaston on Saturday. The enormity of the clash was palpable within the England team. They need to win the remainder of their matches against India and New Zealand to qualify for the semi-finals. A loss today will leave them with a mathematical chance of progressing to the Top 4.
The English media even asked Eoin Morgan whether he was looking to step down from captaincy if his team failed to qualify for the semis. Back-to-back losses against Sri Lanka and Australia have opened up the tournament as far as qualification to the Top 4 is concerned.
While England have been boosted by Jason Roy's return after he pulled a hamstring against the West Indies, the team will monitor sensational pacer Jofra Archer's side strain status. Morgan, however, is willing to take the risk of playing him today.
ALSO READ
Dhoni, Rohit, KL gear up for charity
This month that year: A journey through time
Erasmus admits to making ‘massive error’ in 2019 ODI World Cup final
How Kuldeep 2.0 emerged as India's most impactful spinner vs England
MS Dhoni: 'Run-out in 2019 WC semis made it clear it was my last day for India'
Morgan felt the team let themselves down as far as adaptability to different conditions is concerned. "Where we've let ourselves down as a group is adapting to conditions. It's been a bigger challenge in this World Cup than previous bilateral series that we've played. So, tomorrow's going to be the exact same. We're going to have to adapt to conditions, adapt to playing against a strong side like India," said Morgan on Saturday.
He made no bones about the fact that they prefer flat tracks as they can bat deep. In fact, they thrive in high-scoring games. The biggest examples are 386 and 397 against Bangladesh and Afghanistan respectively. Morgan won't mind a batting beauty again.
"We want to play on the best possible wicket, preferably a batting wicket, and we always do. We bat deep, we bat strong. We tend to play well in high-scoring games. It's an area that we are more confident of playing. I think everybody knows that," admitted Morgan.
Morgan, however, is taking heart from their 2-1 ODI series win over India when they toured India in November 2017. "We believe [we can beat India today] because we have beaten them before," said Morgan.
Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
