Eoin Morgan, England will be aggressive, despite South Africa defeat

England one-day captain Eoin Morgan says his team will continue to play aggressively, despite defeat by South Africa in a series decider. England were bowled out for only 236 in Cape Town, with an AB de Villiers hundred giving the Proteas a 3-2 win. “Playing that way is a winning formula, it’s just a manner of getting better at it and being more consistent,” Morgan told BBC Sport. “We’re still in the learning phase of our development.”

Since an awful World Cup campaign a year ago, a new positive approach to one-day cricket has seen England win series against New Zealand and Pakistan, as well as narrowly losing to world champions Australia. However, on a Cape Town ground where no team has ever chased more than a modest 257 to win an ODI, Morgan’s men were guilty of gifting wickets to the Proteas.

Alex Hales made a century, but England lost their last seven wickets for 81 runs to set a target that South Africa chased with six overs to spare. “England have come a fair way since the World Cup, but they still have a lot to learn,” said former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott on Test Match Special. “You can’t just keep playing one way. If you are going to be a top side, you have to think your way through situations.” It is a view shared by England coach Trevor Bayliss.

“We’ve batted well for six to eight months, but sometimes it comes back to bite you when you play like we do,” the Australian told Sky Sports. “We do talk about the need to be positive, but at different times we do need to change gear. Hopefully, a few of our guys noticed how AB de Villiers paced his innings today. “Overall, we’re very happy because South Africa are a long way ahead of us in terms of ODIs played and centuries scored. To compete with a team like this and come close to winning the series was a great effort.” (BBC News, 2016)