Eoin Morgan: top five England performances as 2019 ODI World Cup captain retires from all forms of cricket

A year after stepping down as white-ball captain, Eoin Morgan retires from all forms of cricket
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Former England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

This time last year, the Irishman stepped down from international duty but has since played at domestic level, including most recently for the Paarl Royals in the SA20 tournament this month.

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Taking to Twitter, the former batter said: “It is with great pride that I am announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket. After much deliberation I believe that now is the right time to step away from the game that has given me so much over the years.

“As there are in every sports-person’s career, there have been highs and lows but my family and friends have been by my side throughout it all.

“Since my retirement from international cricket, I have been able to spend more time with my loved ones, and I look forward to being able to do so more and more in the future. Having said that, I will undoubtedly miss the adventure and challenges of playing professional cricket.

Morgan, 36, first captained England in 2015 having made his ODI debut in 2009, and would go on to make the most appearances in an ODI shirt for England, playing 222 matches and scoring nearly 8,000 runs.

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In 2019, Morgan solidified himself as a true great of the English game when he led his country to ODI world cup glory on home soil. His accolades and accomplishments are never-ending but it will be for this feat in 2019 that he will always be remembered.

Let’s take a look back at some of Eoin Morgan’s best moments…

148 vs Afghanistan, ODI World Cup 2019

Of course, there has to be at least one World Cup entry. England took on Afghanistan during the group stages of the tournament and Morgan took his opponents’ bowlers to town, demolishing every ball they sent down the wicket.

Eoin Morgan hits another 6 during World Cup match vs AfghanistanEoin Morgan hits another 6 during World Cup match vs Afghanistan
Eoin Morgan hits another 6 during World Cup match vs Afghanistan

In just 71 balls, Morgan scored 148 runs, hitting 17 sixes in one innings - the most sixes by an individual in an ODI innings.

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The team scored 25 sixes in total during this match which is also the most by a team in an ODI innings. Undoubtedly, it was this innings which would go on to set the precedent for England’s remaining fixtures,leading them to World Cup victory for the first time ever.

103* vs Australia, Second ODI ton 2010

Morgan hit his first ODI ton earlier in the year against Bangladesh, but it was when he was able to accomplish his unbeaten 103 against a fierce Australian attack that started to make fans believe he was a future great.

England found themselves at 97/4 when Morgan turned up to the crease, but the middle-order batter went on to make light work of the 268 target and hit the winning runs, ending the match with a strike rate of 121.17.

113 v New Zealand, the start of the revolution 2015

England crashed and burned in the 2015 ODI World Cup campaign after they failed to exit the group stages.

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The new captain then stepped up to the mark in England’s first post-World Cup match and hit 113 runs from just 82 balls, including five sixes. All five England batters scored at more than a run a ball and they successfully completed a run chase of 349 - a total England didn’t come within 40 runs of achieving at the World Cup. And so began the four year development which climaxed with the 2019 World Cup win.

91 vs New Zealand, highest T20I score 2019

A few months after the highs of the ODI World Cup summer, Eoin Morgan then teamed up with Dawid Malan to score England’s highest ever T20 score, 241-3 against New Zealand.

Morgan had been playing an anchoring role alongside Malan, who was striking at over 200, but this was not enough for the captain and he belted New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell for 25 runs in one over, eventually scoring a career high 91 off 41 balls.

130 vs Pakistan, Maiden test ton 2010

With all this talk about Morgan’s white-ball exploits, it’s easily forgotten that the 36-year-old had been an instrumental part of the red-ball side when he first came on to the scene. England had been at 118-4 when Morgan walked up to the wicket and he put on a 213 partnership with Paul Collingwood to take the team to a first-innings total of 354. During this effort, Morgan hit his first maiden test century, scoring 130, and he brought up his hundred with a six off Pakistan spinner Shoaib Malik.

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