Eoin Morgan and England hungry for T20 World Cup glory

There was no battle cry from Morgan although he indicated excitement was palpable as they look to go one better than five years ago, when they were beaten by the West Indies and the swishing blade of Carlos Brathwaite.

Coincidentally, the Windies are first up for England, who are looking to become the first side to hold both limited-overs World Cups concurrently.

“The feeling’s good, we’re all excited,” said Morgan. “Competition for places is huge within the squad of 15. Everybody’s hungry for opportunity, which is a good sign.

“A lot of our guys have played in one if not at least two T20 World Cups. Given the experience we had in 2016 and the ride we went on, it was unbelievable and we played some of our best ever cricket in T20 World Cups.

“We know how gruelling World Cups can be, not only to go through to the latter stages but how gruelling group stage games are with the ebb and flow of a tournament. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”

England are the top-ranked side in the format although Morgan has already conferred favourites status upon India.

But Morgan, who was tight-lipped over the make-up of his team for Saturday’s opener, suspects the side who is the most adaptable at the three United Arab Emirates venues will go all the way.

Only Dubai – where England play the Windies this weekend – Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are in use over the next three weeks, and Morgan challenged his side to show their experience, cunning and flexibility.

“The side who adapts to all three venues the best throughout this tournament will go on and win,” he added. “We have the ability to do that, we obviously have to be on top of our game, adapt well and be confident with it.

“You don’t have to be the best team in the tournament right from the very beginning, you need to be the smartest, the most experienced, the most adaptable side in order to do well in the early stages of the tournament.

“There’s no scenario where you can dodge a bullet. If a side progresses in this tournament, they deserve to be there. It’s not a case of what name is on the shirt, it’s the performances they put in.”