Eoin Morgan slams critics who blame The Hundred for England’s Ashes capitulation
- Seb Sternik
- 19 January 2022
The World Cup winning captain believes it’s ‘laughable’ that some critics are pointing the finger at The Hundred for England’s latest Ashes humiliation.
The 4-0 defeat Down Under has led to widespread criticism of not only the England team, but the entire structure of the sport.
Some believe that first-class cricket has been marginalised following the introduction of The Hundred - a 100-ball event which was held throughout July and August.
Joe Root has previously argued for changes in the domestic calendar in order to incorporate more red-ball matches during the summer. Morgan however, believes the shorter format cannot take the blame for England's Test failures.
He said: "People that use that as an excuse don't watch cricket. Test match cricket has always been the priority - it's the format for our elite players.
"Obviously times at the moment have been tough down in Australia during the Ashes but they always are. We've lost the last two series 4-0.
"It's laughable to point the finger at The Hundred. The Hundred is an unbelievable success. Our formats in county cricket and The Hundred, in the way they're structured, are exactly the same as Australia's.
"People need something to blame so they'll point at probably the furthest point to reality because nobody wants to say, 'You know what, we've not had the prep we'd have liked, we probably haven't played as we'd have liked, and we've lost'.
"For the majority of my career, white-ball cricket was an afterthought - 95 per cent of the time was spent around planning and prep for Test match cricket and then when we got to a World Cup, it was like, 'Well, if we do well, great, but if we don't, it's fine'.
"With the skill level that guys are producing now on a consistent basis, proven over a long period of time, we're considered one of the best in the world. Trust me, I'd much rather be considered that than an afterthought."
