Morgan find positives in Jordan, Stokes, Rankin
Skipper Eoin Morgan delighted in the success of seamers Ben Stokes, Boyd Rankin and Chris Jordan, despite Monday's 49-run loss – and two-one series defeat – to Australia in the fifth and final ODI at the Rose Bowl.
Skipper Eoin Morgan delighted in the success of seamers Ben Stokes, Boyd Rankin and Chris Jordan, despite Monday's 49-run loss – and two-one series defeat – to Australia in the fifth and final ODI at the Rose Bowl.
The hosts fielded and weakened team throughout the five-match affair, with Stokes, Rankin and Jordan performing well in the absence of the rested James Anderson and Stuart Broad and belatedly injured Steven Finn.
New-ball bowler Jordan clinched three key breakthroughs on debut in Southampton and all-rounder Stokes clinched a maiden ODI five-for. The lanky Rankin, meanwhile, genuinely tested centurion Shane Watson with some steep bounce.
"The biggest positive is that we've got to see a lot of young cricketers come through, and we've got to learn about them more than anything. We've seen them perform at this level, which is great, against a strong Australian side," said Morgan, who was named stand-in captain amid regular skipper Alastair Cook's rest.
"Here, Jordan looked really threatening up front. He bowled a heavy ball, and came back at the end and bowled well. He, along with Stokes, has impressed – and Rankin similar. It's very difficult to ease Stuart and Anderson out of a team.
"But it's very important we have this depth throughout our squad, especially coming into an Ashes series and then the one-dayers after it. Anything could happen – you could have a couple of guys go down, and potentially a couple of these guys coming in and replacing them. This series was about educating them and having a look at them. So it's a huge positive."
Watson's 143, which spanned a mere 107 deliveries and featured a dozen boundaries and a sextet of sixes, earned the Man of the Match award. Clarke, for 202 runs in three innings, including a fine century in the first ODI, was named Player of the Series.
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