Eoin Morgan came out swinging in an innings that started with an awkward-looking tangle involving his opposing captain, and ended with a world-record clutter of sixes.
The England captain’s 148 from 71 balls against Afghanistan on Tuesday contained 17 sixes and launched the home team to 397-6, the sixth-highest total at a Cricket World Cup and the biggest so far of this tournament.
“Getting quite old, hobbling around with a bad back, you never think you’re going to produce an innings like that,” the 32-year-old Morgan joked as he collected the player of the match award. “I never thought in my wildest dreams I could produce an innings like that.”
A doubtful starter at Old Trafford because of back spasms in England’s previous game, Morgan was barely an over into his innings when he got an inside edge to Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib and shaped to run for a single. He dropped his bat in a collision with Gulbadin as he turned to get back to safety.
Morgan’s discomfort was fleeting, though, as he belted Gulbadin’s next two legitimate deliveries for six over deep mid-wicket and long-on.
It really set the tone. He had one reprieve, when he pulled a Rashid Khan delivery to deep midwicket and Dawlat Zadran got one hand to the ball but dropped the catch.
It said he took that as the signal to unleash, and hit two sixes in that over. Morgan raised his half-century from 36 balls and reached his 13th ODI century from 57, the fourth-fastest hundred ever at a World Cup.
Morgan further added that legendary West Indies cricketer Clive Lloyd can still hit bigger sixes than him.
“I think Clive Lloyd can still hit the ball longer than me, especially with my bad back,” he said.