Eoin Morgan ruled out of England’s decisive final T20s in West Indies

An already weakened England Twenty20 team in Barbados will play the deciding double-header against West Indies this weekend without their captain, Eoin Morgan, who withdrew from Wednesday’s third match after reporting a thigh strain in the warm-up and has now been ruled out of the rest of the tour.

Moeen Ali, who stepped in to lead the side during their 20-run defeat, will remain in the role as England attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the final two games of the series. Morgan’s injury is described as “relatively minor” and is unlikely to have a long-term impact, with England’s white-ball side not scheduled to play between the conclusion of this tour and the three one-day internationals in the Netherlands in June.

Tom Banton, whose 39-ball 73 in a losing cause on Wednesday has underlined his status as one of the rising stars of the English game, has put his form down to his decision to spend the buildup to the series working with his coaches at Somerset rather than travelling to Australia for the Big Bash League.

“That might have made the difference,” he said. “The way cricket is, there’s ups and downs and you’ve just got to ride that wave. I went to the IPL and Big Bash [at the end of 2019], and it was amazing. But then I didn’t really get time to be at home and work on my batting. I’ve got to be a bit more careful about what I do during the winter and plan out my year a bit better, just to make sure I’m getting work in back at Somerset, still ticking over with training.”

At the end of 2020 Banton pulled out of the BBL, though more because of concerns over the impact of bubbles than to spend more time at Tauton. “After a time, it just takes its toll,” he said. “I want to be able to live my life and not be stuck in a