9 Jun 2015

England captain admits they've slipped behind

7:52 am on 9 June 2015

The England one-day captain Eoin Morgan admits his side has "fallen behind by a long way" in limited overs cricket, but he's confident they will improve in the series with New Zealand.

Morgan's men face the World Cup finalists in the first of five one-dayers at Edgbaston tonight.

England cricket captain Eoin Morgan

England cricket captain Eoin Morgan Photo: PHOTOSPORT

England failed to beat a single Test nation at this year's World Cup as they suffered a first-round exit which included an eight-wicket thrashing by New Zealand in Wellington.

An antiquated approach, where 300 was regarded as a par score, was labelled "prehistoric" by former England allrounder Paul Collingwood, still the only Englishman to skipper the side to a global limited overs trophy - the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

However, England head into the New Zealand series with a new-look side featuring big-hitters Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes.

Morgan says they want to be unclouded in the way that they play and put opposition sides under pressure as much as they can.

He says for a long time now, they've been behind the eight-ball in one-day cricket and they've fallen behind by a long way, and it's time for a catch-up.

Ian Bell is bowled by Tim Southee during the ICC Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and England in Wellington.

Ian Bell is bowled by Tim Southee during the ICC Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and England in Wellington. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Morgan says it still might take a little bit of time but certainly he can get his views across and he'll be involved in selection so that he's got the squad he wants.

He says they struggled throughout the World Cup ... simply because they didn't perform well enough, the guys they have brought in do something different and they want that to continue.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, whose dashing 25-ball 77 propelled his side to an overwhelming victory with 226 deliveries to spare when the teams last met in one-day action at the World Cup, agreed with Morgan's assessment of England's revamped squad.

McCullum says it's obviously a little bit raw but it's full of talented players and guys who are pretty aggressive with both bat and ball, they look like a team that is wanting to play some aggressive cricket.

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