‘Proud’ Morgan keen to remain England captain

Eoin Morgan hopes to have another crack at the T20 World Cup as England captain in Australia next autumn after his side bowed out of this year’s edition in the semi-finals.

England lost a thrilling match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi by five wickets following a late onslaught from the Black Caps, but Morgan declared himself proud of his team for their actions both on and off the field.

The match was played against the backdrop of the tumult at Yorkshire following the allegations of racism made by the club’s former spinner Azeem Rafiq, but Morgan sees his diverse England side as role models for the game.

When asked if he would like to continue as captain after England’s defeat, Morgan replied: “I hope so. I think I’m still offering enough within the side. I absolutely love playing cricket at the moment for the changing room, the guys give absolutely everything. Those that are going to get better, they are at the forefront of change both on and off the field with a lot of things to be proud about, not just on the field.

“So I am incredibly proud to be their leader.”

Morgan could not fault his side for their efforts against New Zealand after they made 166-4 after being put in to bat, and then kept Kane Williamson’s team behind the run rate until James Neesham blasted 27 from 11 balls and Daryl Mitchell finished strongly to end up unbeaten on 72 from 47 balls.

“Coming into the game we knew both sides were very close in skill and both play a great brand in cricket,” added Morgan. “Full credit to Kane and his team, they outplayed us today. Unfortunately in a tight game, we have come off on the wrong end of the stick.

“I can’t fault anything that we have done tonight. We’ve fought unbelievably hard throughout this tournament. I think we’ve represented ourselves really well and tonight we have continued to do the same thing and we have come up short.

“That can happen in cricket, but I am extremely proud of the guys, the way they have given absolutely everything throughout this tournament.

“I thought we were right in the game, right from our innings until probably the 17th, 18th over. They built right up until they had to push the button and then they came good. So their plan came off.

“I thought we held them at bay and had them exactly where we wanted them up until that point. So if you can do that you give yourself the best chance of winning, but unfortunately we didn’t.”

Morgan admitted the conditions had not really suited England, although he did praise the way Neesham coped with them as he changed the game.

“We’re a six-hitting side and we like hitting sixes and we struggled to hit sixes,” said Morgan. “I think that’s a pretty good indication of the wicket, potentially a bit two-paced, offering a little bit for the spinners, but we hung in there.

“We changed the game plan, we adapted to conditions and posted probably around a par score. So we felt right in the game at the halfway stage. I think given the start we had, taking early wickets it couldn’t have been any better.”

On Neesham, he added: “To have an ability to come out and hit sixes from ball one like that is something that not a lot of people have. So full credit to him, he sort of swayed the game in the Black Caps’ favour.”

Williamson praised his side’s “heart” as they booked a showdown with either Pakistan or Australia on Sunday.

He said: “We knew it was going to be a great game of cricket and it certainly proved to be the case. It ebbed and flowed as they seem to often do [when we play] against each other. But really chuffed at the heart that was shown throughout the whole performance.

“They had a pretty competitive total on the board at the halfway stage but just by staying in there – and obviously an outstanding innings from Daryl Mitchell at the top – and building those little partnerships and just trying to cash in on some small moments and some match-ups was really the difference. But a great game of cricket.”

Watch Pakistan play Australia in the T20 World Cup semi-final, in Dubai, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 1.30pm on Thursday.