CRICKET: Morgan baffled by England’s sorry show

Eoin Morgan, England’s captain in place of the injured Alastair Cook, was left bemused by the scale of their defeat in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Riverside. England were beaten by 157 runs after scoring only 99 – their fifth-lowest score in ODI cricket in reply to the tourists’ 256-8.

At one stage, England were in danger of failing to beat their worst-ever innings of 86 against Australia in 2001, but Morgan’s defiant 40 avoided that humiliation. He was the only batsman to cope with Sri Lanka’s attack. Ian Bell was the next highest scorer with just 12 runs only.                             

— AFP