World Cup 2015: 'No regrets' over World Cup, says England skipper Eoin Morgan

England captain Eoin Morgan said he had no regrets after his side failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup and insisted he wanted to remain in charge. Friday’s nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in a rain-marred match at the Sydney Cricket Ground came too late to get England into the knockout phase, with Monday’s 15-run defeat by Bangladesh in Adelaide ending their last-eight hopes. “There are no regrets,” Morgan said. [caption id=“attachment_2099285” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  England captain Eoin Morgan. Getty[/caption] “Absolutely not. We’ve given it everything and certainly I have,” added the former Ireland batsman, whose last 11 ODI innings have yielded five ducks. Morgan wasn’t required to bat on Friday with England, after he won the toss in overcast conditions ideal for seam bowling, restricting Afghanistan to 111 for seven. They were then set a revised target of 101 to win in 25 overs and finished on 101 for one in 18.1 for the loss of opener Alex Hales, with Ian Bell unbeaten on 52 at the finish. Morgan, only appointed to the one-day captaincy on a full-time basis shortly before the tournament after England axed Test skipper Alastair Cook from their World Cup squad, said he wanted to continue as the team’s 50-over leader. “The hunger’s still there to captain,” said Morgan. “My experience as captain has made me a better player and better person. I’ve learnt a lot about the team and my own performance,” he added. “There will be a review from here so, with regards the captaincy, the decision is out of my hands.” As for the quality of his squad, Morgan said: “The personnel we have are the right personnel. I’ve no regrets, we’ve given it everything.” Right calibre Asked if hew knew if any of the squad were planning to announce their ODI retirement, Morgan said: “I’ve absolutely no idea. “We haven’t got guys coming towards the end of their careers. I don’t see a reason to. “I think we have the right calibre of squad. The guys on the outside need to be banging down the door.” “It’s an easy thing to sit here while we are not doing well and say somebody outside the squad is better. “We considered everybody when selecting the squad. I still believe we had the right group of players here,” the 28-year-old added. England coach Peter Moores has come under fire for his role in the team’s latest World Cup debacle but Morgan said the players were the ones to blame. “It’s not fair,” said Morgan. “All the responsibility should fall on the players, particularly when we have performed so badly.” Friday’s victory in a ‘meaningless’ match meant England finished the tournament having failed to defeat a Test nation, with their only other win coming against Scotland. “When we’ve been poor, we’ve been really poor,” admitted Morgan, with England having suffered thumping Pool A defeats by Australia (111 runs), New Zealand (eight wickets) and Sri Lanka (nine wickets). “We need to find a way of scrapping to stay in the game.” AFP

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