England captain Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the third and final One-Day International (ODI) against the Netherlands on Wednesday because of a groin problem. In his absence, wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler will take over the responsibility to lead the English side.
Notably, Morgan has been trying to manage the injury and missed an optional training session at the VRA Cricket Ground on Tuesday. But despite a break of two days since the second match of the series, the Dublin-born cricketer has not recovered in time.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Morgan’s absence was ‘precautionary’ after he felt tightness in his groin, which the left-handed batter initially tweaked while playing for Middlesex in May
Morgan, who led England to the 2019 World Cup win, has hit just one half-century in his past 26 white-ball innings as his struggle with the bat has continued. He finishes the ongoing series against the Netherlands with disappointment, as he couldn’t even open his account in the first two games, having faced only eight deliveries without troubling the scorers.
However, Morgan’s teammates have confidence in their captain as Liam Livingstone lauded Morgan ahead of the third ODI on Wednesday, stating that he will come back soon.
“I think the thing that has been forgotten is Morgs is an unbelievable leader. He is the leader of our team, and everybody knows he is only one score away. I’m sure that score will come very soon, and he’ll be off and running again,” said Livingstone, as quoted by SkySports.
