England skipper Eoin Morgan pulls out of third and final ODI against Netherlands
- Seb Sternik
- 22 June 2022
Eoin Morgan will sit out England’s third one-day international against the Netherlands as a precautionary measure due to his slight groin injury.
Jos Buttler will step into the captain's hot seat for the match as England look to complete a hat-trick of victories over the minnows.
Morgan succumbed to consecutive ducks in the first two matches, which has raised question marks over his future as ODI captain.
Ahead of the series in Amsterdam, the 35-year-old had already raised doubts about his playing schedule for the summer.
Morgan endured a quadriceps injury last January while playing against the West Indies, and compounded his issues further by tweaking his groin in county action for Middlesex.
In a press conference last week, the player admitted that he may not feature in every game for England, saying: "Some of our international games are back-to-back, (I got injured) in the West Indies where I played Saturday and Sunday and then injured myself before the game on the Wednesday.
Eoin Morgan has scored only one half-century in his last 50 innings across all formats 👀
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 20, 2022
Can England's captain get out of his current rut?https://t.co/i4bYZwKI8h #NEDvENG pic.twitter.com/I6S36xFZGM
"That was a result of playing two international games back-to-back, so it's unlikely I will be (playing every England game this summer). But that's purely dependent on how I get from here to that match."
Ahead of the two ducks against the Netherlands, Morgan was already struggling for form having produced a top score of just 40 in his last 18 T20 innings - a mere average of 16.
The player did admit that his personal goals would not trump team ambitions, adding: "I'm going to take it as it comes, managing my contribution, my body (and) am I still contributing on and off the field, within the team?
"I genuinely have the best interests of the team at heart. It's always been that way. I have trusted that method since I took over. To be in the position I am in at the moment is a privilege."
