England lose KP but Morgan might be the perfect man

After beating South Africa, the England squad was on a high, until star man Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a hernia problem. However, the previously injured Eoin Morgan has been called up to replace Pietersen, which may not be a bad thing at all. Is this a blessing in disguise for England?



KP: Gutted after injury cuts his World Cup short



Pietersen has been England's leading man since he was introduced into the side in 2004, but recently has become inconsistent, after starting off his career with high scores on a regular basis. There is no doubting his ability to be able to win matches for his country and a team with Kevin Pietersen in is a stronger one.

Although, it is clear that Pietersen is carrying an injury, which could make him vulnerable as the tournament gets older, which could jeopardise the teams chances. Morgan was not originally in the squad as he was injured when England had to announce their final squad. He has now recovered from injury and is a fantastic replacement for Pietersen. There is no doubt Morgan would have been in the squad if it wasn't for his injury. His injury paved the way for Ravi Bopara to get back into the side, and he certainly took his chance against South Africa.

The reason why this could be a bless in disguise for England is Morgan's magnificent ability to win games for his country. Countless times in his short career, his innings has been the one that has all but ensured England have won One-day internationals. His injury at the start of the tournament was a huge blow, but his is back in the side, sadly at the expense of Pietersen.

You may argue that Pietersen has just as much, if not more ability than Morgan to be able to win a game for England. However, I ask you, how many times has KP done that in the last few years for England? Generally he does like the big occasions, such as the Twenty20 World Cup where he was crucial, but Morgan offers England something that Pietersen sometimes doesn't. Pietersen isn't the type of player who will keep the score board ticking, he's a player who likes to push on and score runs quickly to take games away from sides in the blink of an eye. Morgan has the ability to keep the score board ticking and the ability to accelerate at a vast pace as using his amazing hitting ability and technique.



Morgan: may benefit from Pietersen's misfortune

 With Morgan back in the side, England do have an issue with who opens the innings with Andrew Strauss, as Pietersen had been doing so for the first four games of the tournament. The obvious choice would surely be Matt Prior as he was opening during the dismal One-day series in Australia though January/February. However, I am still not convinced as to whether he can deliver in One-day cricket for England. He is without doubt our best Test Match keeper, but he does struggle in ODI's, but whether or not he is the man for the one-day scene, that is yet to be seen. If Prior is over looked for the openers role, the only other options England have are to open with Jonathan Trott or Ian Bell, who have both opened for England before. However, it would make sense if Prior was to open, due to the fact he did so very recently down under.

The injury to Pietersen has certainly given Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss something to think about, but England have strength in depth and to bring a player in such as Eoin Morgan, you can't afford to complain too much, it may well be the best thing that happened to England.