Match winner Jose Butler praised England captain Eoin Morgan as a “pioneer” after his 100th T20 international appearance in a win over India on Tuesday. Butler, whose unbeaten 83-run knock gave India captain Virat Kohli a 77-run knock, said Morgan was an inspiration to England’s cricketers. Morgan, 34, has renewed England’s approach to limited-overs cricket, highlighted by their 2019 ODI World Cup victory – four years after exiting their pool in 2015.
“He has been a pioneer for English white-ball cricketers – he was a debutant as a player and certainly as a captain and leader,” said Butler.
“He is always someone who has been ahead of the curve.”
The Dublin-born Morgan became the first male player from England to play 100 T20 Internationals in an eight-wicket victory that trailed the tourists 2–1 in a five-match series.
“Morgan has taken England’s white-ball cricket to places it has never been before and he has accomplished it in an incredible way,” Morgan said.
“He is a selfless man but it is not an achievement to reach the 100 cap.”
Morgan, who will lead England to the T20 World Cup in India later this year, said receiving the 100th cap from his “great friend” Butler was an emotional moment.
“It almost brought me to tears, to be honest,” Morgan said of Butler’s short address to the team.
“It is a proud moment for me to play 100 matches but what they said has really warmed my heart and I am very grateful,” the captain said.
The 30-year-old Butler admitted that he sometimes feels under pressure to maintain his starting position, a position he has held since 2018.
“I don’t know if it will ever end, people have a lot of fun talking about it. I definitely feel the pressure of it sometimes,” he said.
“We have a lot of people who would love to bat in that starting position. For most people this is probably the best place to bat in the game.
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“But I know that I have the full support of Morgs to go and do it, which gives me a lot of confidence.
“I know the Morgs are eager to open me to this team and I do so with their backs.”
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