Eoin Morgan was “fuming” with himself after England squandered victory in the opening game of the three-match series against South Africa.
Morgan was caught at long-on for 52 off 34 balls with England needing just seven runs off seven balls.
It sparked a collapse that saw the tourists losing three wickets in the last over bowled by the Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi.
“I was trying to check the shot. It was in the slot to check it down the ground, but I smoked it, and I was fuming with myself,” Morgan said after the match.
“I hit it way too well. It is a mistake, and it should never happen, and I should have been facing the last over.
“There were faults in what we did and when you lose a game by one run there are many things you can look at.
“To be honest though, the way we played today wasn’t up to our normal standard. It has almost gone back a little bit, and I don’t know why,” the southpaw added.
Morgan’s dismissal was a very tight no-ball call as the third umpire found a part of Beuran Hendricks’ foot behind the line.
Morgan, meanwhile, said he didn’t saw the replay on big screen – swerving a controversy.
“We expected to win needing seven off the last,” he said. “It’s a great game to play in because you learn a lot about players’ composure in that situation.
“We’re very open, and players will say if they struggled today and ask how they can improve.”
Morgan further ranked England’s bowling performance at Buffalo Park “6 out of 10”. “Our lengths were sliding on, so we were bowling fuller than we thought, and it took our bowlers longer to adjust than normal,” the England skipper added.
Both sides will now face off in the 2nd T20I at Kingsmead on Friday (February 14).
