Two years ago, Eoin Morgan was near to tears as he sat in Heroes in the Crown Plaza hotel in Abu Dhabi, after watching his Irish rugby heroes downed in the Six Nations. France had just stolen a heartbreaking last-minute win at Croke Park back in his native Dublin. Morgan consoled himself by going out and scoring a double century as Ireland's hitherto unheralded cricketers sealed a substantial win over the UAE in the Intercontinental Cup at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The following month the Irish announced themselves on a far grander scale, by beating Pakistan and Bangladesh at the World Cup in the Caribbean. Judging by their exploits at the ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa last month - where they again thrashed the UAE on their way to winning the title - they are well-placed to repeat the feats of their Caribbean adventure at this summer's World Twenty20.
They will, however, be forced to do so without their star turn, Morgan, who has been summoned into England's line-up for the 20-over festival. Even during that trip to the capital, the Middlesex batsman was already planning for a Test career with the country for whom he qualifies as a resident of more than four years. "We wish him all the best in the Twenty20 tournament and also for his one-day international career," said Phil Simmons, the former West Indies player who is Ireland's coach.
"While it's disappointing to lose a player of his undoubted calibre, we've contingency plans in place, as his selection hasn't come as a shock to us." Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom added: "It shows that Irish cricket can produce players who are capable of competing on the world stage in the game's ultimate format. "This only strengthens our argument to push the ICC to let our best players realise their ambition of playing Test cricket with the green shamrock of Ireland on their chest, rather than the three lions of England." Morgan is included for the first time in a new look England squad, the first to be named since Andy Flower took over as coach full-time.
Paul Collingwood has also be restored to the captaincy, less than a year after resigning from the role. He said: "At the time I said I would take a lot of persuading to do the job again. That was captaining full time. "This is an opportunity where I will be captaining for three weeks in a World Cup and that kind of opportunity doesn't come around every day. "A lot of things have happened since then: Andy Flower has been given the job permanently and I am excited at the opportunity to work with him."
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