Emma down and out in Paris

FRENCH OPEN MATCH REPORTS: PAGE 75

I can’t look: Emma Raducanu during her three-set defeat by Belarus’s Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Paris

Eoin Morgan, fit and relaxed at the start of what could be his final summer in charge of the England white-ball teams he revolutionised, has no doubts about the impact his great friend will make on English cricket.

‘it’s unbelievably exciting,’ says Morgan of the appointment of Brendon McCullum as England Test coach. ‘in many ways i’m jealous of the Test players because, having played both with him and under him, i know what a great man-manager Baz is.

‘The best head coaches have this ability to lighten things up and reiterate what direction you’re going in and what your purpose is.

‘it’s a brilliant appointment and it says not only a huge amount about English Test cricket but Test cricket in general. We need to be competitive for it to really flourish.’

Morgan is sitting pitch-side at Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers, where he has been filming a content shoot for Lifebuoy alongside ex-footballers Clinton Morrison and Dean Ashton and lifelong QPR supporter and Hampshire captain James Vince.

Morgan is clearly in a good place as he talks to Sportsmail about his own future and the back-seat he will take for much of this summer to allow England to plan for a future without him. But first he wants to talk about the master of ceremonies at his wedding and the man who provided his inspiration in 2015 for the transformation of England’s white-ball cricket.

‘The thing Brendon brought as a player and a leader is that carefree attitude, that very positive way in which he played and he was able to transmit that across all three formats,’ says Morgan. ‘He also changed how Test cricket was looked at in new Zealand which is incredible given their lack of resources.

‘He’s a brilliant mentor and being a head coach at one of the biggest iPL franchises, (Kolkata Knight Riders) comes with big pressure. To get to the final in his second year there was a great achievement.

‘Baz will bring huge amounts of confidence to England and absolute clarity in the direction he wants people to go. Above all he’ll bring in a great deal of enjoyment.’

When Sportsmail revealed McCullum was on England’s radar there was an assumption he would link up with Morgan as white-ball coach. But, the captain confirmed, that was never on the table. instead Morgan will join forces with Australian Matthew Mott.

‘The relationship between the captain, senior players and coach are key, so i was asked what type of coach i thought we needed and there were some brilliant candidates,’ says Morgan.

‘Matthew’s been around a long time as a coach and the success he’s had with Australia women has shown he can galvanise a team and control the weight of expectation when you’re expected to win every game.’

Morgan smiles when he considers the stated need for England’s Test side, with just one win in their last 17 matches, to now take precedence in English cricket because of the runaway success of the white-ball juggernaut he created.

‘it does make me laugh because, for as long as i’ve played, red-ball has always been the priority, certainly in English cricket,’ says Morgan. ‘Part of me taking this role on in the first place was understanding, yes, you’re going to be held accountable for performances as captain but you’re not always going to have your best team. But you will be able to build towards a World Cup.

‘That gives you more opportunities and breathing space as a captain or coach as opposed to Test cricket when the level of expectation is on every game and series. it can be done but it’s more difficult to do.’

now come the closing chapters in the astonishing success story of Morgan as England white-ball captain. And he dropped a strong hint that it will all come to an end after that T20 World Cup in november, whether England win or lose.

‘i’m always looking at my future,’ admits the 35-year-old. ‘i’m very honest about where the team need to go but if at any stage i haven’t got the drive or don’t think i’m contributing enough i’ll be up front about that. The 50-over World Cup next year is a long way away so i can’t comment on that now. The goal is the T20 World Cup.’ lEoin Morgan was speaking at the filming of a content series for Lifebuoy, official hygiene partner of England cricket. To watch England cricketers and EFL footballers take on a number of skills challenges, follow @LifebuoyUK on Twitter.