Eoin Morgan declared that England can “be considered one of the great teams” after T20 World Cup glory at the MCG on Sunday.
Former England limited-overs captain Morgan steered his side to 50-run Cricket World Cup success in 2019 before falling short in the semi-finals of the T20 edition of the world competition in 2021.
The 36-year-old stepped down from his role in June, allowing Jos Buttler to take charge of the white-ball side and England triumphed in the captain’s first tournament in charge.
A five-wicket win with six balls to spare over Pakistan in the final means England are now double white-ball world champions, with Morgan suggesting Buttler’s side have cemented their place in history.
“This team deserves it,” Morgan said on Sky Sports. “They have made it through the group stage and produced close to their best against India in the semi-finals.
“Jos Buttler said, ‘We don’t want to be known as a team just for our style of play’. We were known for that in 50 appearances and won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
“In T20s they have now gained something tangible to be considered one of the great teams. They were brilliant.”
Ben Stokes, as has been the case in many formats in recent years, proved to be the hero with an unbeaten 52, seeing England back on track as they were 45-3 chasing 138.
From Headingley in the Ashes in 2019, to his Lordship heroics in the Cricket World Cup final earlier that year, Morgan heralded Stokes as the man for the big occasion.
“Ben is just such a special player,” added Morgan. “In the big games he continues to stand up for his country when his country needs him. This is such an incredible skill to have.
“When something has the potential to go wrong, Ben is the guy who thinks coolly and calmly under pressure and makes great decisions. He’s done it so many times now.
“At several stages of my captaincy I got it [Stokes’ role] taken for granted because he continued to be able to produce under pressure at all times.
“He always wants to be in the game and he’s that player who constantly annoys you to come through in high-pressure moments. It’s an absolute luxury to have a guy like Ben Stokes at your disposal.”
As Stokes became only the third player to score 50-plus runs in an ODI and T20 World Cup final (also Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara), Sam Curran played an important role.
Left-arm wicketkeeper Curran claimed 1-12 from his four overs, claiming his 13th scalp of the tournament – the second most by a paceman in any single edition of the tournament (Dirk Nannes – 14 wickets in 2010).
“She [Curran’s World Cup performance] is outstanding,” Morgan continued. “He’s really been a revelation in all parts of the game. Jos Buttler has brought him in the powerplay, used him in the middle and the biggest plus has been the death bowling.
“He’s really stepped up and played with a huge amount of skill and clarity. To produce in a World Cup final is remarkable from someone so young. When his team needed him, Sam Curran did it today.”
