Attitude, ability of players to play fearlessly was at centre of England's turnaround: Eoin Morgan

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England captain Eoin Morgan, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL, talks to Rutvick Mehta about process of bringing change in team's attitude and heart-breaking World T20 final defeat.

England captain Eoin Morgan, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL, talks to Rutvick Mehta about process of bringing change in team's attitude and heart-breaking World T20 final defeat. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

It's been a little over 10 days since England lost that dramatic World T20 final to the West Indies. Is it still a tough pill for you to swallow as captain?

Oh, yes. Losing a World T20 final, it was really hard to take. We haven't had some time to think about it. But I think, I'm hoping actually, that it will be a good learning curve for us. Having had the experience of playing in a World Cup final and having got so close are some things that we can use in the future as a great learning experience.

Are losses where the opposition almost snatches victory from the jaws of defeat harder to get over as a cricketer?

Well, it's just that the experience was a little bit difference, because we had achieved so much of our potential in the tournament. We have grown as a side throughout the tournament. So probably not this time, but down the line when there's a bit more expectations on our shoulders and if we get that far, it might be the time when we took it.

You said after the final that special things are in store for this England team. Are you confident that it will be sooner rather than later?

Absolutely. There's certainly a timeline on things. I believe that if you have a lot of potential – and we are fulfilling some of that potential at the moment – and if we can constantly keep trying to improve what we're doing right now, it will hold us in really good stead in the future.

The highlight of England's World T20 campaign was the fearless cricket that your team played, which is a complete 360 degree from last year's 50-overs World Cup. What was the catalyst of the remarkable turnaround of your team, with you being at the centre of it?

I think there have been a number of things. And right at the centre of it has been, I suppose, the attitude and ability of the players to actually play in that (fearless) way. We selected an entire new squad from the one that played for England nearly one year ago now. And we consciously picked a group of players that play that particular brand of aggressive cricket, and for whom it comes really natural to. I think there was a lot of culture created by our back-end staff, and that has been really instrumental on where we are right now. The focus was on creating a relaxed culture of trying to learn, and not only trying to improve our skills but doing that against the best in the world. So, it's really a mixture of all this that has contributed to the overall outcome.

But how challenging was it to initiate this total paradigm shift? Surely, there must have been some reservations and resistance from people outside...

I think when you're trying to instrument any change in any culture, there are always going to be obstacles. But we got a lot of support from the English Cricket Board and Andrew Strauss (director of England cricket) in particular. We sat down and decided that we wanted to play one particular way and that the development of the side for the long-term was more important than short-term success. So, having that kind of confidence behind your back helped a lot.

So results didn't matter to you at all over the past one year?

The process was the most important part of it. The fact that we had some success along the way, I think, probably initiated that immediate reaction to change in culture, which is obviously a huge catalyst in the learning curve. So from that side of things, getting the results really helped us.

Who were the key men that drilled the change in attitude into the players? Joe Root gave a major credit to your leadership...

As I said, the backroom staff has been brilliant. Initially, Paul Farbrace (England's assistant coach) was outstanding. He was the national coach of Sri Lanka (in 2013-14) and had them doing great things in white ball cricket. To have him involved in this process was awesome. And then obviously a little later Trevor Bayliss (head coach) came on board. His international experience and more importantly, experience in cricket coaching is second to none.

And what was the response of players like? Were they up for the challenge?

Oh, massively. When we selected a team, one strength of it was that we played very aggressive cricket naturally. We added players that were hungry to learn and hungry to get a chance. And, look, you can have the best plans in the world with the best coach around the world, but unless you have the players to execute the skills, it doesn't really happen. So, a lot of the credit goes to the players.

In hindsight, thus, do you sit back and look at England's shocking group stage exit in last year's World Cup as a blessing in disguise? It made cricket philosophy in the country change...

(Pauses) I would never say it was a blessing in disguise. It was a very poor experience. I'm not saying that we didn't deserve to be knocked out (in the group stage). We didn't play good cricket, we were poor, we were under-performing. It made us step away and ask ourselves some serious questions about where our cricket was going.

You've played in T20 league across the world as well as the IPL for a number of years now. Do you think modern-day cricket almost necessitates teams to play an aggressive brand of cricket, at least in the shorter formats of the game?

I don't think it makes players play that way. It's just the evolution of the sport. Naturally, any sport that you play evolves over time. I mean, it's been forever that people have been talking about 'back in my day, it was better, and back in this and back in that'. But if you look at not just cricket but any sport around the world, I think you'll find that the whole evolution, the new technology, those aspects necessarily evolves over time. That, in turn, has a better effect on the sport. And I think cricket is going through that at the moment.

Let's talk about the IPL now. This is your second year with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the franchise seems to have made some good buys to plug in the holes from last year. Are you confident that the team will do well this season?

We have a very strong squad. I think the additions to the squad add a lot of value, and that is probably the most important thing. I think last year, we were a very strong team and it was very important to protect the team aspect in that regard. And guys like Ashish Nehra, (Deepak) Hooda and maybe Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) when he comes are very valuable additions.

You have grown as a player of spin. Do you think spending time with someone like, say, SRH mentor VVS Laxman in the IPL helps you develop as a batsman overall?

We're very lucky to have somebody like VVS in our ranks. Having a guy who has played for so long and been so successful use all his experience in sharing that with us goes a long way, particularly in big tournaments. Hearing the utmost simple things from him and how certain things work can go a long way. I always try and ask him as much as I can, trying to learn more about playing in Indian conditions.

WINDS OF CHANGE

Below are the results of bilateral ODI and T20I series that England played in since their group stage exit in the ICC World Cup last year...

ODI

vs Ireland: No result

vs New Zealand: Won five-match series 3-2

vs Australia: Lost five-match series 2-3

vs Pakistan: Won four-match series 3-1

vs South Africa: Lost five-match series 2-3

T20I

vs New Zealand: Won one-match series 1-0

vs Australia: Won one-match series 1-0

vs Pakistan: Won three-match series 3-0

vs South Africa: Lost two match series 0-2

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