World Twenty20 2014: Eoin Morgan defends ‘stuttering’ England

Eoin Morgan admitted England produced a “stuttering” performance after losing their penultimate warm-up game to the West Indies ahead of their World T20 debut.

Chris Gayle’s side secured an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Morgan’s side on Tuesday after sealing 2-1 T20 series win against England in the Caribbean last week.

We were a bit short of par and given the start the West Indies got we were staring down the barrel a little bit

Eoin Morgan

England’s batting display was particularly disappointing as the 2010 World T20 champions managed to hit one six as they posted a target of 132-7.

“We never put ourselves in a position to take their bowling on,” said Morgan.

“We found it a bit of a stuttering innings today. We were a bit short of par and given the start the West Indies got we were staring down the barrel a little bit. It was just tough to get going.”

England face India in their final warm-up game on Wednesday before taking on New Zealand this weekend, and Morgan vowed his side would try to improve on their performance against West Indies.

“We’re focusing hard on improving our skills and getting some partnerships going,” added Morgan.

“We’re coming up against a very good India side next, who have similar skills to the West Indians. They will go in as favourites but we’ll try and get as much out of the game as we can.

“And if we perform there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win.”