England will take the knee alongside West Indies says skipper Morgan

England

Eoin Morgan has revealed England will take the knee alongside the West Indies before both sides get their T20 World Cup campaign underway on Saturday.

The teams conducted the anti-racism gesture ahead of each of the three Tests they played in England in summer last year, with Morgan’s limited-overs performers doing likewise during a one-day international series against Ireland.

The practice was then quietly abandoned, leading to criticism from Windies great Michael Holding, but Morgan has confirmed they will kneel with the Caribbean side in Dubai before this weekend’s fixture.

England took the knee alongside the West Indies last year (Michael Steele/NMC Pool/PA)
England took the knee alongside the West Indies last year (Michael Steele/NMC Pool/PA)

England will take the knee

“We have heard from the West Indies that they will be taking a knee and we will be joining them for the first game,” Morgan said on Tuesday.

England have in recent months started staging a ‘Moment of Unity’ against all forms of discrimination before each match.

And Morgan indicated England are in discussions with the International Cricket Council about continuing that throughout the global tournament.

“Games going on from there, we’ve been speaking to the ICC about the potential moment of unity before the game that we’ve been doing as part of our own piece at home,” Morgan added.

“It hasn’t been cleared up whether that’s a possibility yet.”

Former West Indies quick and broadcaster Michael Holding has been outspoken in his criticism of the team for their flip-flopping on taking the knee.

“The footballers, Gareth Southgate and the England team, I applaud them for what they’re doing,” Holding told Sky Sports.

“They are getting a lot of stick for taking the knee, they’re getting booed, but they are showing some backbone.

“They are showing some intestinal fortitude. They’re saying ‘we’re doing it because we know what we’re doing – not for a political movement, we’re doing it for humanitarian reasons’.”

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