Ambitious Morgan is here for the long haul

EOIN MORGAN has vowed not to change his attacking approach if he makes his Test debut against Bangladesh at Lord’s tomorrow.

After impressing in one-day cricket over the past year, the Irishman is set to make his first Test start as a replacement for the rested Paul Collingwood. Morgan’s innovative shots and attacking intent, coupled with a cool head, have been a vital part of England’s recent success in limited-overs cricket, including the World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean earlier this month.

However, there are fears the Middlesex batsman’s modest first-class form – he averaged less than 25 last summer – is a sign he is not yet ready for Test cricket.

‘Last year I was a bit ill-disciplined in my game and wasn’t in the right place,’ he conceded.‘We had a lot of consecutive games and I couldn’t seem to get a score under my belt. But a lot has changed since then, I’ve a lot of runs under my belt and I feel quite confident about my game.’

And Morgan is certain he can make the adjustment to the longer form of the game despite not playing a championship innings since last August. ‘Test cricket is not necessarily about batting in a different way,’ he added. ‘Like one-day cricket, it’s about how you bat with the situation of the game. ‘I think it will be a lot more spanned out and again if the game does dictate a certain shot and the percentages are in my favour I’ll play it – there’s no doubt about that. ‘If the wicket dictates it and I feel in good nick I’m going to play normally.’

The 23-year-old Dubliner, who quali- fied for England last year, admitted: ‘Test cricket is my biggest aspiration and my biggest dream and it has been since I was a kid. I grew up watching England play Test cricket, I wanted to be like some of my heroes so it’s where I want to be – testing myself against the best.’ ‘If I do play it will be huge because the coverage for Irish cricket will be great.’