Morgan ready to front up against Pakistan

Abu Dhabi - Eoin Morgan will be walking in with a clear head, quite literally, when he fronts up against Pakistan in the first of the four One Day Internationals at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The England ODI captain suffered a massive blow on the head from a Mitchell Starc snorter in the final fixture of the English summer at Old Trafford. The 29-year-old suffered grogginess and concussions and it took him 10 days to get back to being himself and didn't play any competitive cricket after that.
The Irishman has recovered from that and will stride out to the middle with a new, custom-made helmet, in the desert. But it remains to be seen whether there are mental scars, if any, especially after the tragic death of Phillip Hughes last year.
"At the time, it was quite concerning. The ball hit me quite hard," Morgan said of the incident.
"It was about 10 days before I was, I suppose, myself. I had trouble with my balance, grogginess.it was a really weird feeling. It's worrying, to be honest, because the feeling of concussion is something I've never had before. I suppose being in that position, having never been in it before, worried me a little," he elaborated.
But Morgan has pulled himself together and fronted up against the short-pitched stuff, trying to make sure he was not shying away from a challenge. "I've done a lot of short-ball practice since then and I'm quite confident going into this series that I've progressed," he added.
Morgan picked up a bat three weeks ago and did quite a bit of work in a bid to get back. "I suppose you start building up confidence again in the nets, I did that about 3 weeks ago, did quite a lot of work in indoor schools on quicker surfaces, which hopefully prepare you for that event again, to judge it in a better way.
"It's crucial (to get back). As long as I'm feeling alright, which I am, I know guys who in the past have had prolonged concussions, so I feel very lucky to be back," said Morgan.
England have improved since the World Cup where they beat New Zealand at home before going down fighting to Australia. And Morgan felt it was a productive summer and as they lads continue their learning curve against Pakistan.
"I think it will be a huge learning curve. That's one thing we've gained over the last six months. We've created an atmosphere in which learning becomes very easy for our young guys coming in," he said.
"Probably, no one would have given us a hope in hell against Australia and New Zealand. But they were two very competitive series, and we managed to turn over New Zealand. It was a very productive summer for us, in which we've seen a lot of our youngsters (come up with) some unbelievable performances. This, again, will be different. But I think the culture and the platform the summer gave us will hold us in good stead," he added.
And Morgan reckoned Pakistan will be challenging despite getting the better of them last time out, three years ago.
"They're always very challenging, a very capable side. We've had some interesting series in the past. They offer a huge amount of skill. They offer a different challenge, a varied amount of spin, reverse swing and these conditions enhance that challenge," Morgan said.
james@khaleejtimes.com