COLOMBO: Eoin Morgan defended his decision to drop himself and others for the fifth ODI between England and Sri Lanka.
The 32-year-old, who had been in fine form in the preceding victories, helping to guide his team to a ninth consecutive ODI series victory, left himself out for England’s heavy defeat in Colombo.
A sloppy fielding display saw Sri Lanka post 366/6 and as England managed just 132/9 before the rain came, they fell to their biggest ever defeat in ODIs.
But the England captain stood by his selection decisions. “Individual form doesn’t come into it when you’re planning for a World Cup,” he said. “What was best for the team was to give the younger guys some experience.”
With so many of the matches during this series curtailed by rain, opportunities had been restricted.
“It’s very important for our progress as a squad,” Morgan added. “We need to know what every player can bring, what their weaknesses are, and you only find that out by playing them.
‘We made some changes and gave some opportunities to some guys who haven’t been playing. Sri Lanka put us under the pump which gives us a good experience.
“As an exercise it’s valuable but we were outplayed today and were simply not good enough.”