Bangladesh really looked on track to win after being put in to bat by Captain Cook and making 260, but just couldn't stop Morgan. Despite losing 8 wickets to a fairly average bowling attack, Morgan and Treadwell brought England home. Just. Bastards.
Does anyone else think Treadwell looks uncannily like Postman Pat?
Seriously, put glasses and a mailman's hat on him (I tried, but couldn't find a decent Pat hat for him so use your imaginations, you lazy beggars) and he's a dead ringer!So, anyway ... what does everyone think about this switching countries business? Morgan has now made a century for 2 different countries. Is that right? Dirty Dirk breaks my heart in two every time he smiles, but should he really have switched from the Netherlands to Australia? Should that even be allowed?
I just feel there's something amiss with it, but I haven't given it a lot of thought yet. It seems to favour the larger teams over the "minnows". I'm curious to know what you all think. If, indeed, you do think.
11 thoughts on this post:
Well changing national teams like underpants will abruptly stop in two years time. As described here:
♠ King John ♠
Apart from that, if you wanted to play serious cricket and you are from, say, Poland, where you absolutely have no chance to ever play a Test, wouldn't you seize the opportunity to play for the Poms, if they let you? I certainly would. No, wait a minute. Not the Poms.
Anyway, and then your own national side calls, they need you for a tournament. With joyful heart you will fight for the country of your origin. It's like Sid being asked to play for Oz. Sid would not even think of refusing. She would fly all the way to Australia just by flapping her ears (Ritz awaits). And I think so would anybody else, if he/she could. It could also be the other way round. Doesn't matter.
So I think I can understand Morgan and Nannes, even if the latter is a born Aussie, but the parents' origin sometimes counts even more, just look at the children of the immigrants in your country.
I generally think a migrant has has two hearts beating in his chest. You will never abandon your home team.
Another thing is that England is obviously dependent on it's migrants. How many English does the side feature, one, or one and a half? Looks like they need the legionaires to maintain the quality of their cricket.
On a sidenote, Morgan is fantastic. :P
"Owen" Morgan, whaddaplayaaa!
Ireland is a part of England's domestic structure, so technically England can call up any Irish players!
I didn't know that, Rishabh - good point. And I wouldn't want to lose my Dirky. I was just curious as to what you all thought.
Wes, you're right about the 2 hearts thing - I, too, am half Dutch. I can totally understand where Dirky is at.
England, Morgan and the likes of Ed Joyce and Dirk Nannes are just greedy.
ICC should not allow this or minnows will never be able to develop as any decent player goes on an ancestral investigation trying to take the short and easy route to success rather than help develop his nation.
Where is Ed Joyce now I wonder? I hope Ireland continue making it to World Cups and people like him can sit at home and wonder. Morgan will soon be discarded and can join him.
They can do whatever they want. Sometimes talented people are born in a place where they dont have enough opportunities to nurture their talent. It's the same as people migrating to different cities or countries for better job opportunities. Why can't they do it?
Although, I do want Ireland to become a proper side and they need the likes of Eoin Morgan for that. So I hope as much as he is enjoying this, he is doing something to develop his side as well.
This is one of my thoughts on it. It does seem to favour the big sides over the minnows, doesn't it? And I would like the Netherlands to develop as a team as well.
I don't know ... I'm in two minds about this one, really.
Saw Eoin in the 2007 WC and even though he didnt perform well I dubbed him then to go further with his cricket. He just seemed somewhat a bit more ahead than the other Irish guys with the way he looked playing his shots, and showed glimpses of entertainment.
TBH I'm all for him playing for England. I hope he doesn't make the Test team in a hurry because I can't give him any sympathy votes come the Ashes, but he will go further this route than if he had stayed with Ireland. Plus he eligible to play for England anyway, so seems fair enough. Think he's with Middlesex too.
As for Nannes...what rubbish was that playing for Netherlands.
As far as I'm concerned the Poms can take whoever the bloody hell they want. Their country is pretty much like it anyway. Muppets.
This stuff works in other ways too - players like Brendan Nash, knowing they have no hope of playing for their home country, move to where they have more chances.
There are a huge lot of Indian and Pakistani players playing for cricketing minnows all over the world!
Completely disagree Purna,
Not enough opportunities? Morgan and Joyce could have plenty of opportunities with Ireland. Ireland don't play Tests but Morgan and Joyce don't play Tests for England anyway. But how do you get opportunities? By improving as a team. How do you improve as a team? By running off to play for another? No.
Ask Joyce what opportunities he's getting right now? Ireland will be in the Caribbean for the t20 World Cup but Joyce will be twiddling his English thumbs at home. Opportunity missed no?
And it's not like any other job because Andrew Symonds cannot play for India....as much as he'd like to.
It's better for everyone if we fight for the greater good of cricket, and not for the good of the cricketing 'greats'.
As a fan of Bangladesh, you of all people should know how difficult it is for smaller teams to become recognised. When their better players are plucked by the colonial masters, it doesn't help anyone....apart from the masters.
By all means, if you have been raised in a certain country, you have a right to play for them. But listen to Morgan speak; he's Irish, he's played Irish cricket since 11 years of age.
I think Brendan Nash is slightly different, though, because he never actually played for Australia. Nannes did play for the Netherlands and Morgan did play for Ireland. That's where I get concerned. It's one thing if you are an Aussie (for example) who moves to another country because you percieve you have have a better chance at playing international cricket there, but once you have played for one country should you be allowed to then move to another?
Stani has expressed my thoughts but, inevitably, with more style than me - you don't help a small team improve by moving to a bigger one as soon as you get the chance. Is there no loyalty?
It seems to me that Australia weren't willing to take a risk with Nannes - they let the Dutch do that for them. Once it was clear he had talent, they nicked him. I'm sure there are rules about this in other sports, aren't there?
What I find odd is that Morgan had to qualify for England didn't he? If so, that is a four year qualification period.
But he played for Ireland up till April 2009, then played a month later for England in 2009. This is what I don't understand. How can someone qualify for England while they are still representing another nation?
Having cake, stuffing one's face with it and then puking it up all over the Associate teams it appears to me.
Don't get me wrong, he is a fantastic player to watch and good luck to him, but the Associate nations aren't going to develop this way.
Nannes shouldn't have been able do it either in such a short period of time. There is something wrong with that awfully large hole in the net.
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