Cricket World Cup 2015: Eoin Morgan mystified by loss of form

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Eoin Morgan cannot 'understand' poor form

Cricket World Cup Pool A: New Zealand v England

Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium; Date: Friday, 20 February; Time: 01:00 GMT

Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website

England captain Eoin Morgan says he cannot explain his recent poor run of form with the bat.

The Dubliner was dismissed without scoring in England's 111-run World Cup defeat to Australia on Saturday, his fourth duck in his last five innings.

The 28-year-old insists he has not made any alterations to his technique.

"I don't understand it," he said. "I've done the same things I've been doing since the start of the tour and I started the tour with a hundred."

"That's only five games ago."

Morgan. who says he has analysed his game and not identified any fundamental flaws with his batting, hopes to regain his form when England face New Zealand in their second World Cup Pool A match in Wellington on Friday.

"You don't look any further than what's in front of you and I've done that and it hasn't worked." he said.

"But I believe it will work and when it does hopefully I can cash in on it and make it either a match-winning performance or build on somebody else's performance."

The England skipper also stated that James Taylor, who hit an unbeaten 98 against Australia on Saturday, will not be promoted up the order against the Black Caps.

"He has batted at three a lot for us this tour, and in Sri Lanka, but I still don't think it is his best position," he told BBC's Test Match Special.

"I think five or six is his best position. He will stay there - to have someone who scores the volume of runs at the rate he does is very valuable in the middle order."

Morgan confirmed that the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] will allow him to miss the one-day international against Ireland in Malahide on 8 May.

Morgan and Ravi Bopara are contracted to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2015 Indian Premier League, and the ECB will allow them both to play the whole tournament, which runs from 8 April until 24 May,

Alex Hales and Michael Carberry, who went into the IPL auction but were not signed by any of the IPL franchises, will also miss the match against the Irish.

"The chairman of selectors and the director of cricket have allowed the guys who got picked up in the IPL, or went into the auction, to miss that Ireland game in order to expose themselves to opportunities in the IPL and learn more about their game," he said.

Listen to highlights from Test Match Special's and 5 live Sport's 2015 Cricket World Cup coverage

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