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Morgan in fight to keep captaincy: Vaughan

3 minute read

Michael Vaughan believes England could replace Eoin Morgan as white-ball captain ahead of the T20 World Cup in October, unless he fires with the bat.

JOS BUTTLER of England.
JOS BUTTLER of England. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Former skipper Michael Vaughan thinks England will consider dumping Eoin Morgan as white-ball captain in favour of Jos Buttler before the Twenty20 World Cup in October, unless the incumbent finds form.

While boasting a win percentage above 60 per cent in 70 games as T20 skipper, Morgan has struggled for runs in the shortest format of late - reaching 25 just three times in his past 16 innings.

With England about to begin a five-match T20 tour of the West Indies, Vaughan believes the 2019 ODI World Cup-winning leader must perform to justify his position ahead of the World Cup on Australian shores.

"They've got probably five or six people that could captain the side," Vaughan said.

"(Morgan) will be desperate, and I hope he gets to the T20 World Cup, but if he doesn't find form with the bat it wouldn't surprise me if England have Jos Buttler captaining in a few months' time."

At 31, Buttler is four years Morgan's junior. While he endured a tough Ashes series, the wicketkeeper-batter has been in rich T20 touch, blasting 589 runs at a tick over 65 in 14 matches for England in 2021.

Vaughan also conceded pace spearhead Jofra Archer will struggle to play all three formats for England as he continues his recovery from an elbow injury.

Archer, who trained with the T20 squad earlier this week but is yet to lock in a return date to competition, hasn't played international cricket since March 2021.

"Clearly, his elbow's bad. You don't have too many, three operations on one part of the body unless there's a real problem in there," Vaughan said.

"I think realistically, playing all three formats consistently with an injury like that is going to be difficult. I hope they can manage it in a way that allows him to play some Test cricket but not all; obviously some white-ball cricket but not all."

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