“At the time it was quite concerning, the ball hit me hard”, he said.
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But cricket is more sensitive than ever to the dangers of concussive trauma after the death of Aussie Test batsman Phil Hughes past year, and Pakistan’s fiery left-arm quickie Wahab Riaz will compose a few chin music to test Morgan’s appetite for the short stuff.
Eoin Morgan expects his new-look England one-day team to continue their upward trajectory by learning on the job against Pakistan in the UAE. I’ve done a lot of work on quicker surfaces in indoor schools – hopefully that will prepare me to judge (short-pitched deliveries) better.
This was the case at various times with Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook and even Eoin Morgan during England’s desultory World Cup campaign last winter.
The 29-year-old added: “I’ve watched it back a number of times; I’ve watched loads of footage of me in the past, how I’ve normally played”.
However, in the English summer he scored 600 runs at 66.66 in ten matches, including one century and six fifties, as England, first, beat the World Cup finalists, New Zealand, in a gripping series that included, at Headingley, England’s first 400-plus total in ODI history, and then battled back from 0-2 against the World Champions, Australia, to eventually lose a competitive series 3-2.
“It’s worrying, to be honest, because the feeling of concussion is something I’ve never had before”.
He said: “I got hit on the neck at Lord’s when I wasn’t wearing a neck guard”.
“I feel more protected with the neck-guard that they have, so I went for the full helmet”.
“I am confident he can recapture his form”.
England’s one-day captain faces his first trial of steel and sphincter since he was poleaxed by a 90mph bouncer from Australia’s Mitchell Starc at Old Trafford two months ago.
“I’ve had scans on my head to help make a mould for the one I wear now”.
Hello everyone and welcome to white ball cricket in Abu Dhabi.
“It was a very productive summer for us, in which we’ve seen a lot of our youngsters (come up with) a few unbelievable performances”, he said.
“Nobody gave us a hope in hell against New Zealand and Australia”.
England could do with him returning as if never away, as they seek to hit back – as they did here three years ago – with limited-overs success, after their Test series defeat against Pakistan.
“He’s a leader in the group [albeit a soft-spoken one] and I think he holds the first and second fastest hundreds for England, which is a huge accolade”.
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England could still decide to stick with Jonny Bairstow for Wednesday’s game, but Buttler has done enough to satisfy the medical staff he is fit to play. Only one member of their squad, Liam Plunkett, is over 30, and he may not get a game in Abu Dhabi.
