ABHISHEK SINGH ∙ 18 Jan 2022
Test match always the priority, people blaming The Hundred laughable: Eoin Morgan on Ashes drubbing
England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan said that Test cricket has always been the priority for England and that people blaming the newest and most successful domestic format in the country- The Hundred are not making the correct analysis. "Test match cricket has always been the priority: it's the format for our elite players. Obviously, times at the moment have been tough down in Australia during the Ashes [but] they always are: we've lost the last two series 5-0 [sic] and it's no surprise that Australia are very, very good at home,” Morgan said on talkSPORT's Following On podcast. "Given the preparation, the guys have had where since they've arrived in Australia, until the first Test match, it has hammered it down with rain… it's laughable to point the finger at the Hundred. The Hundred is an unbelievable success. Our formats in county cricket and the Hundred, in the way they're structured, it's exactly the same as Australia's,” added the man who was given the Commander of the Order of the British Empire honours on the new year’s day of 2022 by the British Empire. Morgan, who is currently in Barbados to play the five-match T20I series against West Indies, said that people need to assess the loss purely on the merit of preparation and the game that the team has played instead of searching for the scapegoat in The Hundred. "People need something to blame so they'll point at probably the furthest point to reality because nobody wants to say: 'you know what, we haven't had the prep we would have liked, we probably haven't played as we'd have liked, and we've lost'. That happens in all formats, but I stress: Test match cricket has always been the priority,” he said. The Hundred’s first season was played in July 2021 and both the men’s and the women’s tournament was received well by the audiences with the women’s tournament seeing record attendance as the men’s and women’s games were played at the same venue on the same day. Morgan led London Spirit, one of the eight city-based sides in the tournament.