England’s squad announcement, for once, had something in it to talk about. At the top of the show was the man who missed out, Eoin Morgan. ‘Harsh but fair’ seemed to be the general feeling. Harsh inasmuch as he was the fall guy of a collective batting failure; harsh in the sense that his position as one of the in-crowd is suddenly weakened, possibly for good, and harsh because of the utter absence of sentiment which underpinned the decision, which, of course, is just how it should be. And fair, because the boy looked knackered, shot, done for, by the end of a tour in which he managed a highest score of 31 in 17 innings. He needs a rest, and a few nets.

In an ideal world, everyone has enough money, no one wants for much more of it, and cricketers play purely for the love. What we have instead is Morgan hotfooting it over to India any day now to appear in the Indian Premier League for six weeks, a stint that will eat into his time, his first-class season, and possibly, deep down, a smidgin of his soul. Or not. Who can tell? There’s massive, comedy-level money to be had over there, it’s clearly a scream of a way to spend your time; cricketers have never had it so good. “Irony is like a hitch in the swing to a kid like the Swede,” writes Philip Roth of his high school athletic hero in his laugh-a-decade novel American Pastoral, “irony being a human consolation and beside the point if you’re getting your way as a god.” I don’t suppose these baffled hitters and to-order yorker merchants in their garish kits and orange helmets worry too much about human consolations during these weeks. Best to leave all that to us.

Whether Morgan will have time to worry about his Test career is a moot point. Andy Flower, whose comments were telling, knows Morgan’s a special case who does things on his own terms – a one-off batsman who has done more than any other in recent years to revolutionise England’s limited-overs form. But in acknowledging his talent, there was a tone of warning in there too. Morgan’s decision to take in the IPL – rather than hitting the nets, throwdowns and English pitches in soggy April – has left him little room to address the technical problems which have led to him being dropped. He is reduced, in Flower’s words, to “thinking” about, rather than acting upon, these problems.

Some would call it karma. This time, Ravi Bopara stands to step in to Morgan’s slot at No.6, but a year ago, that same slot had been up for grabs when Bopara chose to swerve the IPL to concentrate on making first-class runs for Essex. Morgan casually went the other way, shrugging his shoulders and telling AOC that with more pressure in the IPL, a stint over there would help his Test chances more than flapping about in lower-tier county cricket. In the event, Morgan suspended the debate with a cool and immediate daddy hundred on his return from India, leaving Ravi to rail against dodgy balls and iffy pitches for Essex. Well, now the tables have been turned.

But the sense that Ravi may be jilted once again gathers weight the more we look at England’s options for Sri Lanka. A straight swap – Ravi for Eoin – has been complicated by the quaint story of Samit Patel. The important things to know about Patel are that he’s a consistent first-class runscorer who averages 41 in top-tier county cricket, that he’s a proven one-day cricketer who has only ever done the right things when called upon in his 25 ODIs, that he impressed against Pakistan with the bat last month with good lower-order runs, and that during that series he presented himself as a viable second spinner – a legit left-arm accompaniment to Graeme Swann – with ball in hand.

And it’s this last morsel that makes his selection for the Test squad so intriguing. Patel has 131 first-class wickets, including a 10-wicket match haul. He can bowl. Not as a slightly apologetic back-up, but as a wicket-taking option who gives it a rip and who evidently has an intuitive feeling for the cuts and thrusts of a game of cricket. So it’s about time we all followed Flower’s mature, flexible lead and left the weight thing alone. So Samit used to carry a bit of timber. Poor form, but he has always been cricket-fit. Now that he’s sufficiently body-fit too, let’s give this resourceful cricketer his dues.

Which may well happen this month. Playing Patel at No.6 in that first Test will give England five bowlers, with the unstoppable Steven Finn vying with Monty Panesar to come in alongside the big dogs, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Swann. It’s a persuasive option.

Having lost two Test matches in the last two years, England have now lost three in less than three weeks and the blame will quite rightly be placed squarely on their batsmen. In a series in which the batters were expected to fill their boots it’s been the bowlers who have excelled, only to be let down time and again by a batting unit devoid of confidence and unable to counter Pakistan’s spinners.

It’s been a tour England will want to forget, but given their schedule over the next 12 months – which includes a tour of Sri Lanka in March and a visit to India next winter – there are lessons that must be learnt from this whitewash, and quickly.

Tellingly England’s batsmen failed to score a century in the series and the middle-order of Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan registered just 200 runs between them at a paltry average of 11.11. The dismissals of all three on day four in Dubai were symptomatic of their travails.

Pietersen once again failed to bring his bat down straight against the spinner and had his timbers rattled, while Bell got locked into the defensive mode that we’ve seen throughout the series and when a long hop came along only succeeded in agonisingly looping a dolly to cover point. Morgan, meanwhile, continued to struggle in striking a balance between attack and defence.

Pietersen and Bell have plenty of credit in the bank after starring against Australia and India and England’s management are too canny to hit the panic button and make sweeping changes, but Morgan now finds himself under serious pressure. His knock of 31 included some fine shots – a flick of the wrists to send a straight six back over the head of Saeed Ajmal providing a reminder of just what a fine strokemaker he is – but it was never an innings that suggested any longevity.

The calculated, controlled aggression that makes Morgan such a fine one-day player is absent when he’s in the whites and his attacking strokes appear to be born out of panic rather than judicious shot selection. His dismissal in England’s second innings rather summed things up. Having carved Umar Gul over point for four, Morgan showed further attacking intent by giving Gul the charge in his next over. The wily seamer saw him coming and dropped it short; Morgan tried to adjust accordingly but feathered an edge through to the keeper.

It was a cunning piece of bowling from Gul and England’s batsmen have played worse shots in the series – plenty worse, in fact – but Morgan’s negotiation of the delivery revealed a muddled, cluttered mind. On the surface he might appear as calm as ever, but Morgan’s ice-cool temperament appears to have deserted him. It might be the last shot he plays in Test cricket for a while.

The upcoming ODI series will no doubt come as a relief to the Dubliner and stacks of limited-overs runs could yet seem him retain his Test place in Sri Lanka, but with a batting average now the wrong side of 30 after 16 five-day outings, England’s selectors may be forced to act.

Click here to read the Wisden Almanack report of Pakistan’s famous win over England at Lord’s in 1992

I had the pleasure of speaking to Mike Brearley yesterday. He, like the rest of us, has been engrossed by events in the UAE but was struggling to get his head around England’s travails against spin, and in particular those of Kevin Pietersen. “He seems to get mesmerised and often misses straight balls,” said the former England captain. “He looks for spin that might not be there and he makes a palaver of it, instead of just playing the ball – which he is so capable of doing.”

For a while, at least, it looked as though Pietersen was beginning to break free of that hypnosis and find an answer to his spin demons. His footwork showed greater intent; coming down the track to Saeed Ajmal and driving firmly to mid on before swatting his next delivery through the covers for two. Two trademark Pietersen boundaries followed in the next over from Umar Gul to take him to 25 off 26 deliveries. He was beginning to motor and there was a hint of swagger returning.

Of course, the true test was yet to come in the form of left-arm spin. Misbah-ul-Haq wasted little time in bringing Abdur Rehman into the attack, but again the signs were positive as Pietersen played authoritatively in defence – getting a good stride in and, by and large, playing with a straight bat.

He continued to play with purpose in Rehman’s second over, skipping down the track to sprint a quick single before slog sweeping the left-arm twirler for four to move on to 30 and bring up a 50 partnership with Andrew Strauss.  Was the spell beginning to break?

Unfortunately for England, the answer was no. Four overs later Rehman – England’s tormentor in the second innings at Abu Dhabi – conjured another wicket as Pietersen’s woes against southpaw spinners continued. Caught on the crease, he was rapped on the pads and Simon Taufel raised the finger. Pietersen can count himself unlucky after the subsequent review showed the ball was flicking 2.2mm of the leg stump but the angle of his bat – pointing towards mid on at the point of impact – once again demonstrated how susceptible he is against the spinners.

With Pietersen’s departure, so went England’s intent. Four overs came and went without the tourists adding to their total before the ever-vociferous Adnan Akmal fortuitously stumped Ian Bell, who had crawled his way to five off 28 balls. Eoin Morgan and Matt Prior soon followed – Morgan to the 35th lbw of the series (a new record for a three-Test series) – as England’s middle-order succumbed to spin once again.

In a low-scoring match England needed a batsman to take the game by the scruff of the neck and establish a first innings lead. For an hour, it looked as though Pietersen could be just that man. Instead England must look to their captain, who remains unbeaten on 41, and the lower-order to add vitals runs on day two and give their hugely impressive bowling attack a lead worthy of the name.

Click here to read how David Green would counter Pakistan’s spinners

The Stone Roses have done it. So have the Inspiral Carpets. And now the Happy Mondays have put aside their musical differences, Zimmer frames and freedom passes and announced their reformation along with a clutch of new tour dates and festival appearances.

Critics will doubtless claim these bands have no chance of recapturing their former glory and that reforming is a cynical ploy to rake in some dough – and they’re probably right. But as I peeked out from behind the sofa and watched on in anguish as England turned what should have been a very gettable run-chase into the equivalent of an ascent on Everest without oxygen, Sherpas or a discernible plan, I pondered how reformation, renewal and even resurrection would look if applied to the current England batting unit.

Even Andy Flower confessed that England’s batsmen look all at sea against quality spin in Asia, and the stats support him. In matches against India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Asia, Kevin Pietersen averages just 29.54 from 13 Tests, Ian Bell 31.60 from the same number of games and Andrew Strauss 35.35 from nine Tests – with only Alastair Cook (40.64 from nine Tests) of the current top six having a creditable average. Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan are experiencing their first taste of Test cricket in Asia on this tour – it’s not been a pleasant one.

For Morgan it has proved particularly painful, with Geoff Boycott commenting that, “when he comes in, I daren’t go for a pee because I know I’ll miss him”.  England’s limited-overs supremo might suffer the axe after his struggles but his replacement Ravi Bopara faced a nightmare of his own against Sri Lanka’s spinners in 2007, leaving England with a headache ahead of two Asian tours before the turn of the year with no aspirin in sight.

So, back to our theme of reformation, renewal and resurrection. Given the chance, which former England batsmen would we restore to their prime to take the place of England’s top six for the third Test in Dubai and the rest of their Asian adventures in 2012? Having waved the magic wand, I’ve come up with the following:

1) Marcus Trescothick
Test record in Asia against India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan: 15 Tests, 1,100 runs @ 37.93
Other England openers have better records in Asia, but the Somerset skipper’s ability to attack the spinners proved a boon on England’s last triumphant tours of Asia to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2000/01 and would surely counter the inertia witnessed in the second innings in Abu Dhabi.

2) Geoff Boycott
8 Tests, 706 runs @ 58.83
Picking Boycs would not only get him out of the commentary box, but his dour accumulation and the fact he is a right-hander would be the perfect complement to Trescothick’s aggression. In any case, he’s told TMS listeners he could take runs off Saeed Ajmal and co with a stick of rhubarb; imagine what he could do with a bat!

3) David Gower
16 Tests, 1,138 runs @ 56.90
Starred against Pakistan’s legspin maestro Abdul Qadir in the 80s and another former great who could teach the current crop a thing or two about batting positively against high-class spin with a top-drawer sweep shot and the ability to play the ball as late as possible.

4) Ken Barrington
8 Tests, 903 runs @ 90.30
No England batsman in history can match his average or tally of four hundreds in Asia and, like Misbah-ul-Haq, Barrington understood that if you are going to block, you need to do so with purpose so as not to relinquish the initiative to the bowler.

5) Graham Thorpe
10 Tests, 821 runs @ 48.29
The Surrey left-hander mastered Muralitharan in his own backyard and almost single-handedly led England to a famous series win in 2001. When boundaries were scarce, Thorpe understood the importance of maneuvering singles to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

6) Ian Botham
9 Tests, 599 runs @ 49.91, 35 wickets @ 26.31
Not only would his bowling ensure England could always play two spinners in Asia, but he’d also have the opportunity to reprise one of the greatest all-round performances in the history of the game. In the Golden Jubilee Test of 1980 against India, Beefy took 6-58 and 7/48, and smashed 114 for good measure, as England won by an innings.

Whimsy though this is, this top six and the four-man bowling attack that performed so well in Abu Dhabi would finally leave England with a team capable of beating Asia’s big three in their own backyard. In their absence England fans will have to put up with more chastening defeats before the year has run its course unless the current batting unit can find an answer to their spin demons.

David Green is the warped mind behind The Reverse Sweep cricket blog and regards Douglas Jardine as his ultimate cricket hero. You can follow David on Twitter @TheReverseSweep

Click here to read David’s account of Pakistan’s rollercoaster ride

The No.1 ranking

Since September, barely a moment has gone by without some reference to England’s recent ascension to the summit of the world rankings; it would be a shame for them to be knocked from their perch so quickly. But that’s exactly what could happen, if things go wrong again in Dubai. Failing to win the third Test, in conjunction with a 3-0 win for South Africa in New Zealand in March, would see the Proteas take top spot. That would constitute quite an early blow for Mission: Stay No.1.

Individual places

Most of the side in Abu Dhabi has plenty of credit in the bank, but certain individuals might feel they are playing for their future. Eoin Morgan, in particular, looks vulnerable with scores of 24, 14, 3 and 0 in the series so far – and indeed might wonder whether he will make Friday’s team sheet at all, with Ravi Bopara waiting for a chance. If England (as I suspect they will) stick with Morgan for one more go, it could be his last for a while if he doesn’t perform. Meanwhile, success for Bopara should he get the chance could cement him in the side for the forthcoming one-dayers and at No.6 for the Sri Lanka Tests in March and April. Jos Buttler’s remarkable run of form for the Lions makes him a likely call for the soon-to-follow ODIs in UAE, heaping more pressure on those batsmen who still play 50-over cricket but have had a tough month in the Test team. Morgan’s travails could even tempt the hastening of a move to five bowlers, if Bresnan is deemed a competent enough No.7 when he returns to fitness for the Sri Lanka series. Certainly, it will be hard to drop any of the bowlers, and if Monty has another stormer in Dubai there will be tough choices to make when the Test squad reconvenes in Galle.

Reputation against spin

They have been familiar frailties, against spin on Asian wickets: ones we suspected this table-topping team might wear less obviously than their forebears. If they come away with nothing after such a brazen display of susceptibility to quality twirlymen in such conditions, it could scar another generation of England teams.

To save face to the world (especially the Aussies)

The Aussies are going well: they’ve matched England’s home whitewash of India, they feel like they’re a pretty good side again, and to top it all off the Poms are losing meekly in foreign climes. The Aussies think the cricket world has returned to its natural order. With a result in Dubai, England can at least remind them of some of the brutally effective runscoring pedigree that contributed to their Ashes drubbing just over a year ago.

A hard-earned win

Not only is it important for England to confront some demons and put the first two Tests behind them, there would be much to be said for a victory in the present circumstances. There’s been some classic cricket played so far and winning the third Test against a confident Pakistan side, even with the series gone, would be an achievement worth celebrating. It would require skill, and as Andy Flower has said, courage.

In short, this final Test is far from a dead rubber.

Click here to read Sam Stow’s sideways look at the last week in cricket.

Graham Gooch

… was a clean-shaven 21-year-old when he made his England debut against Ian Chappell’s formidable Aussies in 1975 but the Essex batsman was unfortunate to make his bow on a sticky dog at Edgbaston and promptly made a pair. In reality, Gooch had done well to get bat on ball to two snorters from Max Walker and Jeff Thomson and he put his bad start behind him, going on to amass the most career runs of any batsman in the history of the game. Among the numerous records he achieved was the highest score by an Englishman against Sri Lanka of 174, until it was broken by…

Jonathan Trott

… who had a much more auspicious Test debut, coming in for the Ashes clincher at The Oval in 2009. “It’s a game of cricket, at the end of the day,” he said beforehand. “I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible”. Simple and effective it was too, and few can deny that for consistently bringing home the bacon, Trott deserves his place at the top table of world batsmen.  Former Warwickshire colleague Mark Wagh suggested that “in a synthetic, celebrity, fame-chasing age, it is refreshing to find a man of substance staying true to his art”.  And there was plenty of artistry when alongside Stuart Broad, he broke the record eighth-wicket stand for an England pair with 332 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010 – a record which had previously been held by England wicketkeeper Les Ames and….

Sir Gubby Allen

… who was so influential within the game that he had a home within Lord’s rented to him by the MCC and, it is rumoured, his own key to the pavilion. A Bodyline tourist, he was a conscientious objector to leg theory and made his point by taking 20 series wickets using conventional tactics. His intermittent spells as England captain were more successful before the war than after and he lived to the ripe old age of 87. He had, as E.W. Swanton observed, a perfectionist’s eye for detail “whether it be rewriting the MCC coaching book, tending his car or his roses, ordering his dinner, or even describing in close anatomical detail his last strain or hip operation”. The Sydney-born Sir Gubby was an England captain born overseas, as was…

Sir Tim O’Brien

… who deputised for Lord Hawke in the first Test of England’s 1896 tour to South Africa at Port Elizabeth. His own contribution with the bat was modest (17 and 16) but England stormed to victory thanks to Surrey seamer George Lohmann, who returned match figures of 15-45. An Oxford Blue who bagged a pair in his first varsity match, Sir Tim was a vigorous batsman who made 90 and 111 in his last first-class match aged 52, and fathered 10 children. O’Brien was England’s most successful captain born outside of the UK. The latest player to join the list of overseas-born England skippers was none other than fellow Dubliner…

Eoin Morgan

… who will be keen to continue his  transition from one-day finisher to bona fide Test batsman. A shiny new central contract can only enhance the confidence of a man who stands alone as the maker of one-day international centuries for two different nations. Teammate Graeme Swann described Morgan as an ”X factor player”, and one judge who will be stroking his chin in Cowell-esque fashion and offering sage advice will be England batting coach… Graham Gooch!

Click here to read more from Richard H Thomas. 

How confident is the team of defeating India in the ODI series?
“The summer has gone great for us so far and we’ll be hoping to carry that on into the one-day series. It’s a better feeling winning than losing. It’s a great test and hopefully the conditions will suit us and we can pull off a victory. It’s where we want to go in one-day cricket, to become world champions. We want to be an improving team and this is the perfect chance to start that.”

So there’s no chance of underestimating India despite their poor form?
“No, none at all. They are a world-class team so we will have to be at our absolute best to beat them. We are confident at the moment and the Twenty20 win last week has done no harm to our confidence at all.”

Do you have any sympathy towards India for the way things have gone for them so far on this tour?
“No, it’s not your place to have sympathy for the opposition. You’ve just got to turn up, play your best and win, and we’re enjoying doing that.”

England have tended to falter in ODI series following a big Test series win. Is that something you’ve spoken about as a group?
“That’s an area we really need to watch because it often can be a bit of a damp squib after the Test series and hopefully this time around it will be a positive rather than a negative end to the summer. We haven’t spoken about it yet but I’m sure we will do.”

Why have England struggled in previous one-day series, despite doing so well in the preceding Test series?
“I don’t know, to be honest. I think we’ve missed a certain x-factor with certain players but I think we are starting to get that now with blokes like Eoin Morgan and Jade Dernbach. We are starting to get those real match winners with bat and ball.”

After the Twenty20 match some members of the Indian press were predicting India won’t win a game on the tour. What did you make of that?
“Well hopefully we will continue our winning streak. It’s a good place that we’ve got ourselves into if some of the Indian press are starting to be negative about their own team. But we still know they are a world-class side and we won’t be taking anything for granted.”

A few new players have come into the one-day side. How have they settled in?
“They’ve done amazingly well, it’s as if they’ve been there all their lives and that is a testament to how well they have done. It’s easier to come into a successful squad rather than an unsuccessful one. They’ve coped well with it.”

Graeme Swann was speaking at the launch of ‘StreetChance supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports’ – an initiative that aims to tackle youth crime and anti-social behaviour by providing cricket opportunities to young people in inner-city areas.

Boundary Options

“You need to know your boundary options. You struggle if you don’t have boundary options because panic sets in and you become flustered. Having a plan for a certain bowler is crucial and you need a boundary option for each bowler. Score a boundary and then get off strike; and you can get off strike anywhere you like when the field is spread.”

Sweeping

“When I go through my boundary options I always have a pecking order. So, I go reverse-sweep, sweep, lap sweep, in that order, because I’m worst at the lap sweep. I go through my options in that order and only the opposition altering the field will change my mind about which shot I’m going to play. All my sweeps are premeditated. Instinct comes into it with shots like cover drives.”

Changes In Stance

“Sometimes if the keeper comes up to the stumps I open my stance a bit to create a different angle and to hit a different area. If the bowler is bowling length, opening up my stance opens up the whole of straight mid wicket and the far side of extra cover for a clip or a slice.”

Concentration

“If I’m doing well all I’m thinking about is scoring runs when I bat but loads of different things can distract you; whether it’s the bowler, the field or something in the crowd. It can be anything and that’s why I try and keep things simple and clear in my head.”

Playing Naturally

“When I grew up, playing cricket from four or five, all I wanted to do was hit the ball. The fun is hitting sixes and hitting fours. That’s the way I grew up, I really enjoyed it and it’s important to continue to play naturally. I’m a firm believer that kids shouldn’t be coached until they’re 14 or 15. They should be taught the basics, but more than that is just giving you more things to think about rather than actually hitting the ball. It can stifle talent.”

Eoin Morgan is an ASICS ambassador and wears the GEL-ADVANCE 3, arguably the lightest and most responsive batting shoe on the market.

The shell-shocked England debutants of yesteryear must look on in wonderment at the ease of Eoin Morgan’s passage into the top tier of international cricket. Intimidated by the big occasion, shackled by inhibition, so many of the country’s brightest young batting talents have fallen by the wayside over the years as they’ve struggled to come to terms with the pressures of international cricket.

But Morgan – for all his outrageous and complex strokeplay – makes it all look so simple. Even his teammate and flame-haired brethren Ian Bell, who now commands an enviable reputation on the world stage, did a very passable impression of a rabbit facing impending doom during his formative years.

The current England regime is without doubt far more accommodating to newcomers and unorthodox talent but you get the impression that Morgan – so cool, so calm, so collected – would have coped with whatever was thrown at him. His shotmaking marks him out as a special talent but it was his attitude and composure under pressure that convinced Andy Flower to take a punt on the 24-year-old Irishman.

Morgan grew up as a fearless young cricketer in Dublin, hitting his brothers into neighbouring gardens and smashing big sixes against anyone who dared bowl at him on the local club scene in Dublin, then for his state and eventually for Ireland. That fearless streak has only been fortified with age and experience. When asked if he ever worries about getting out, Morgan looks faintly exasperated: “I only worry about scoring runs. That’s it.”

But Morgan has not always had things all his own way. He encountered disappointment on the biggest stage with his native country before his switch to the Three Lions. As a 20-year-old, he was little more than a bystander in Ireland’s historic 2007 World Cup campaign – registering 91 runs in nine innings. It was a shock for a confident and successful young player who had been primed for big things. “I couldn’t score any runs. I was in the worst form of my life, and it became a big problem.” Just over two years later he was starring in England’s one-day series against world champions Australia.

“I always had this belief that I was going to be a good enough cricketer to play international cricket,” he says, brimming with the calmness and confidence that is such a hallmark of his batting. “It was just a matter of how I was going to do it.”

Morgan went back to Middlesex, got his head down, and the runs began to flow freely once more. By the winter of 2008/09 he was on an England Lions tour to New Zealand and broke into the one-day side the following summer, quickly becoming England’s best limited-overs batsman and impressing observers with his cucumber-cool temperament. “That coolness is a strength of mine,” says Morgan. “It’s been like that since I can remember.”

It’s one of several traits he has in common with Andy Flower. He has more than a hint about him of the Zimbabwean in his pomp and Flower is clearly a big fan.  “Andy Flower has probably seen me play more in the last two years than anybody else. I’ve been working closely with him – he watches for certain stuff. For instance, he was the first person to point out to me when I got back from the IPL that I’m crouching a lot more in my stance than I did last year. It’s a massive positive for me in getting into the right positions to score runs. It gets my head going towards the ball and for some reason I’m playing it later now. He spotted all that.”

Ah, yes, the IPL. It was speculated that Morgan’s decision to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders rather than stake his Test claims with Middlesex in county cricket would see him lose out in the race with Ravi Bopara for the No.6 berth.  Until, that is, the Irishman returned to hit 193 for England Lions against the touring Sri Lankans. He’s adamant that it was a choice made for purely cricketing reasons.

“I learnt more from the IPL than I would have done with Middlesex – that’s the reason I went out there. You might get 50 people at a Championship game. There’s 60,000 at the IPL. You’re under pressure and you’re playing with big names, legends of the game…sharing a dressing room with them, you can’t put a price on that.

“With the game changing quite a lot at the moment, you’ve got to be very adaptable. In county cricket, guys are playing T20 one evening and then playing a Championship game the next day, then at the back-end of the Championship game there’s another T20. You’ve got to be very versatile.”

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Morgan over the last two years. Success in the one-day side and the Champions Trophy, then a T20 world champion, before selection for the Test team against Pakistan last year – a call-up which Morgan says he “didn’t expect at all.” Following a long winter carrying the drinks in Australia, during which he says he “learnt a hell of a lot” about his game, he’s now a key member of the side across all formats and vice-captain of the T20 and ODI side to boot.  There’s also all the additional media and sponsorship commitments that come with his newfound stardom. But, just like when he bats, he seems entirely unfazed.

He points out that he’s yet to really take stock and assess his career to date. “Nothing sinks in until you have enough time to look back on it and I haven’t had that. I’ve just been playing all the time and travelling a hell of a lot. ” He’s unlikely to get that time for reflection for a while yet, and perhaps he’ll never need it. Morgan is clearly a man who lives in the moment: someone who likes to keep things simple and his mind free of unnecessary distractions.  That’s been the key to his success so far and he shows no signs of changing his unique approach.

Eoin Morgan is an ASICS ambassador and wears the GEL-ADVANCE 3, arguably the lightest and most responsive batting shoe on the market.

Consistency was the name of the game for England’s selectors when Geoff Miller announced the squad for the first Test in Cardiff, beginning on Thursday.

Eoin pipped Ravi at the post for the No.6 slot (we agree, plenty don’t) after producing a timely 193 for England Lions against Sri Lanka last week in his first first-class innings since December, and just his second in nine months.

Bopara can consider himself a touch unfortunate to miss out after turning down a lucrative IPL contract and scoring consecutive Championship centuries against Glamorgan and Derbyshire, but a first-class average this season of 45.09 against modest Division Two attacks mounted a strong case, but not a compelling one.

Meanwhile, Morgan’s been having sporadic slogs for Kolkata Knight Riders with minimal success (137 runs in nine innings) and admitted he was ready to return to the IPL should he miss out in the race to replace Paul Collingwood, leading many to suggest he had slipped down the pecking order.

But in his still-fledgling career the maverick left-hander has shown an appetite for the big occasion, as demonstrated in his Test audition at Derby against the tourists, and England stuck with their next-cab-off-the-rank policy, giving Morgan the nod after the Irishman acted as batting back-up during the Ashes. He will now surely be given a whole series to nail down his Test spot before India arrive.

Steven Finn is another who has benefited from a selection policy with consistency at its heart after a mixed bag of a winter that saw him dropped from England’s Ashes XI, despite leading the wicket-taking charts, after proving expensive and struggling for fitness. The Middlesex beanpole held off competition from Ajmal Shahzad, Graham Onions and Surrey paceman Jade Dernbach but is likely to miss the final cut, with Anderson, Tremlett, Broad and Swann set to form a four-man attack.

Sri Lanka are performing the role of warm-up act before Dhoni and his team of world-beaters swagger into town, but England will do well not to underestimate a side ranked No.4 in the ICC Test Rankings and containing some of the world game’s great talents.

Last time Sri Lanka toured England back in 2006, Muttiah Muralitharan inspired Sri Lanka to victory at Trent Bridge to draw the Test series 1-1 before the tourists dished out a 5-0 whitewash in the ODIs. The great man is now gone, along with fellow stalwarts Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas, and England rightly start the three-match series as favourites, but Andrew Strauss will be expecting a much sterner test than England encountered on home soil against Bangladesh and Pakistan last summer.

With crowd pleasers such as Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jaywardene in their ranks, whatever the score, it should make for some entertaining viewing.