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Eoin Morgan wants England to stay grounded after Sri Lanka win

England clinched the series by defining 3-0 margin, but skipper Eoin Morgan doesn’t want them side to get carried away.

Eoin Morgan feels England still have a few areas of concerns. (Getty Images)

Eoin Morgan feels England still have a few areas of concerns. (Getty Images)

England wrapped up a comprehensive series win against Sri Lanka by beating them by eight wickets in the fourth ODI at Pallekele via DLS method. The victory marked England’s ninth straight ODI series win, and it promises to hold them in good stead for the World Cup next year.

England clinched the series by defining 3-0 margin, but skipper Eoin Morgan doesn’t want them side to get carried away. As per Morgan, England still have some work to do in order to become a polished product and hence, wants his players to be level-headed. England still have five ODIs against West Indies in January, followed by an ODI against Ireland days before the World Cup begins.

“It’s nice, but I think we have to continue being honest with ourselves,” said Morgan. “We have played some good cricket along the way and the series that probably stand out are India in particular, Australia and New Zealand away. But we haven’t played great cricket so far in this tour. We are quite honest with where we’re at and where we need to improve. Today it was fielding, we were quite rusty, and we maybe could have been more disciplined in the areas that we bowled.”

In a rain-marred series, England were once again awarded the match on the basis of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. Sri Lanka had scored 273 for 7, in reply to which England were placed at 132 for 2 in 27 overs before rain stopped play. England were 18 runs ahead as per the DLS equation but that wouldn’t have been the case had Joe Root not been reprieved by a no-ball call. The umpire spotted an extra player outside the circle and gave Root not out when the batsman had top edged a sweep to short fine leg. England’s margin would have dropped to five runs had the batsman been declared out. By the time rain halted play, Morgan and Root had scored 56 runs between themselves.

“Myself and Joe got a couple of boundaries away and we were well ahead of it but it certainly would have brought DLS right up if Joe had been given out. The umpire called it straight away, I didn’t even notice it,” Morgan said.

With one match to go in the series, Morgan revealed that the team was pondering making a few changes and giving a few young players a go. “I think there’s an opportunity to make some changes, particularly the guys who haven’t played yet,” said Morgan. “There’s guys who have played who haven’t really participated yet – Jos (Buttler) has only had one bat – but we have to try and make the most of what is probably a bad situation with the rain.”

Of wicketkeeper batsmen Jonny Bairstow, who injured his ankle while playing football as part of a warm-up practice during the eve of the fourth ODI, Morgan said that they were yet to receive a clear picture regarding the extent of the injury. Bairstow missed the fourth ODI and is scheduled to be taken to Colombo for scans on Sunday. “We’ll know more tomorrow. I haven’t seen him most of the day, he’s been icing it,” added Morgan.

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