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Cricket World Cup: Morgan keen to make England impact

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Group B: Bangladesh v England
Venue: Chittagong Date: Friday, 11 March (0830 GMT)
Tournament dates: 19 February-2 April Venues: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Coverage: Highlights on BBC TV (see listings), Red Button & BBC Sport website at 2200 GMT every day (UK users only); Live Test Match Special commentary (BBC 5 live sports extra, online, some games also on BBC Radio 4 LW) and live text commentary on England matches and selected others; Live on Sky Sports


Eoin Morgan
Morgan will be hoping to cause problems to the Bangladesh bowlers

England batsman Eoin Morgan hopes his experience of conditions in Bangladesh will help get his World Cup campaign off to a good start on Friday.

Morgan only arrived in the country on Tuesday afternoon as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen.

But he hopes his previous visits will help him adapt quickly to the conditions and make an impact.

"It is my fourth time in Bangladesh and the only thing I have to adjust to is the heat," he said.

"Conditions are always challenging here. Different bounce, turn in the pitches but I am hoping that I can reproduce some past performances.

"I don't feel that undercooked or underprepared. I feel very fresh and over the next couple of days my preparation will be similar to how it has been in the past. I feel ready."

The progression of Morgan's scores in Bangladesh suggest he should be capable of causing their spin attack some problems.

On his first visit with Ireland's under-19 team, he scored 240 runs over four innings but struggled when he came back as Ireland's seniors lost a three-match series to Bangladesh 3-0.

But by the time he returned with England last year, he scored 33, 110 not out and a 29-ball 36.

The Dublin-born left-hander has a batting average of 38.08 from 61 one-day internationals, with four hundreds and 10 fifties, and was a key member of the England side that won the ICC World Twenty20 last year.

He looked set to miss out on the World Cup after a broken finger sustained in the 6-1 ODI series defeat against Australia ruled him out of the initial 15-man squad for the tournament but he has made a quicker-than-expected recovery.

"I got the injury in the Adelaide [one-day] game. At the time I didn't feel it very much and thought I would be fit enough to bat and field but as it went on the injury felt worse and it turned out I had broken the finger," he said.

"When I came back, the first day I arrived in London I saw a specialist. His diagnosis was that I would need an operation but wanted to wait a week to see if it would progress and heal.

"After a week he changed his diagnosis and from there it healed up quite nicely. It is pretty strong at the moment."

England play Bangladesh in Chittagong on Friday with the chance to clinch a place in the quarter-finals and end any hopes the tournament co-hosts have of progressing.

But having represented Ireland at the last World Cup, Morgan is keen to make an impression with his new country.

"I have played a World Cup for Ireland but all through that World Cup I said I wanted to play for England, which has always been the bigger picture and bigger plan," he said. "So it is a dream come true."



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see also
England's Broad out of World Cup
08 Mar 11 |  England
Pietersen ruled out of World Cup
07 Mar 11 |  Cricket
Pietersen v Morgan
07 Mar 11 |  Cricket
Injured Morgan replaced by Bopara
08 Feb 11 |  England
Morgan waits for chance to shine
17 Nov 10 |  England
Morgan seals England series win
22 Sep 10 |  England
Proud Morgan revels in maiden ton
29 Jul 10 |  England
Morgan shines in England victory
29 Apr 10 |  England


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