Eoin Morgan unfazed by South Africa defeat

The England captain was in positive spirits after his side’s 10-run defeat against South Africa in Sharjah and believes his side have the depth to weather Jason Roy’s injury

Eoin Morgan is unfazed by England’s 10-run defeat to South Africa and is looking forward to the knockout stages after securing top spot in Group One.

South Africa posted 189 for 2 from their 20 overs in Sharjah, with Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram blasting 71 runs off the final 30 balls to punish England at the death. However, Morgan’s side remained in the chase until the final over when a hat-trick from Kagiso Rabada restricted them to 179 for 8.

And despite losing, Morgan’s side secured qualification for the last four, alongside Australia, owing to their superior net run rate. They will face the second-placed side in Group Two, which could be Pakistan, Afghanistan, India or New Zealand, in the semi-finals. 

Speaking after the match, Morgan said: “I thought was a good wicket. South Africa came hard at us and batted well. I thought we bowled reasonably well and held them to a par score [and] coming off, with the dew coming in, we thought we were right in it.

^{Jason Roy retired hurt in the fifth over}

“Jason Roy going down doesn’t help, but we thought we were right in it throughout. Every game tests us in different ways – the biggest test in group stage was Sri Lanka, having to bat first before the dew came in, then losing a bowler defending a low score. Today, our batters could have been more expressive, and bowlers had to find a defensive mode.

“I’m very happy, topping the group, we know how hard it is to get through. Finals are all about going and expressing yourselves, enjoying them, so we’re going to do that.”

England did suffer a big blow in the powerplay, with Jason Roy retiring hurt with a suspected calf injury and later emerging on crutches. However, Morgan is confident his side has the depth to weather the loss of the opener.

“We’ve dealt with injuries, [Ben] Stokes, [Sam] Curran and [Jofra] Archer aren’t here,” he said. “We do have talent coming in, so that gives us confidence. We’ve built a core group of white-ball players, so we’ll have to delve into that.”

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