Even the timing of his retirement was spot on. Two ducks against the Netherlands is hardly a glorious exit but by putting the team first Eoin Morgan has selflessly given England a better chance of emulating his 2019 World Cup success.
He could have simply retired from ODI cricket and gone on to the next Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, ensuring a gradual handover to Jos Buttler. He retained the full backing of his players as well as a board forever grateful he won them a global trophy (there is an enormous image of Morgan lifting the World Cup staring down on ECB execs as they make decisions in its boardroom).
But Morgan realised that while the mind is willing, his body is not and his own batting had declined below international standard. He was standing in the way of better, younger players and, in Buttler, has a deputy ready for his chance. Morgan’s departure gives Matthew Mott, the new coach, a chance to forge a relationship with Buttler in time for the 2023 World Cup defence in India.
Morgan’s last call is the right one in every sense, but then he barely put a foot wrong during seven years of captaincy that encompassed a World Cup victory, World Twenty20 runners-up and semi-final placings.
Yet his legacy is more than that thrilling day at Lord's on July 14, 2019 after one of the greatest games of cricket that that ground has ever hosted. Instead, his real achievement was the alchemy of transforming years of conservatism and caution into a golden modern era. His influence stretched way beyond the England dressing room. Young players in county academies are now batting without limits thanks to Morgan. Whole generations of batsmen have been inspired by his innovative team.
It was a side built in his image, for he was a
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