'Brilliant captain, brilliant bloke, brilliant batsman' Ali on Morgan

One thing to excel in is another thing to change the way a nation plays.

England's leading one-day and Twenty20 run-scorer of all time, as well as the architect of a fundamental shift in English cricket, is about to end his international career.

Morgan's impact on the game in this country is unparalleled.

England's limited-overs cricket was dragged into glorious technicolor by the Irishman.

England have broken the world record three times under Morgan. England had passed 300 31 times before he took over. It was 53 when he was in charge.

This wasn't just a radical improvement in results on the field, turning a shambolic outfit into world champion in four years, but changing the entire attitude towards white-ball cricket.

The world has changed through the emergence of franchise leagues, international teams playing more limited-overs matches and a style of play that influences the longer forms.

The English game used to be like a parent changing a baby's diaper, so hold your nose and hope you don't get your hands dirty.

Morgan had English cricket embracing the white-ball game with open arms, possibly tipping the balance too far the other way, depending on your point of view.

That is the envy of the world because of the depth of talent that has been created.

Morgan's leadership style of backing his players to the hilt and encouraging them to be aggressive is now bleeding into the England Test side. Under the new coach, the 'Bazball' revolution could be Morganball.

The test captain wants to be like Morgan. Many others have said that the 35-year-old is the best skipper they have ever played for.

At a time when English cricket is struggling with diversity, Morgan embraced and celebrated the diversity of his team.

After the World Cup victory, he said Muslim spinner Adil Rashid told him that Allah was with them.

He hid his face behind sunglasses and a cap on the field. Morgan was the leading hat-stacker during the Pandemic.

One of the captain's tricks was to take the ball out of the bowler's hand so he could speak to them.

Morgan is England's first 50-over World Cup winner, but only India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni can match his 72 T20 internationals as skipper.

After making his debut for Ireland as a 19-year-old, scoring 99 against Scotland before he was run out, Morgan was already a veteran of 23 one-day internationals.

He was a visitor from the future, playing shots that are commonplace now, but had barely been thought of back then.

Morgan's century against Afghanistan in the World Cup is the record for maximums in an one day international.

He has 13 tons for England and 202 sixes, which is more than any of his team mates.

Part of the team that won the 2010 T20 World Cup, he was good enough to make two centuries in 16 Tests played between 2010 and 2012 and an average of 30.4.

Morgan was part of the team that won the series in Australia and moved to the top of the rankings. Morgan was mentioned as a possible replacement for Cook when he was under threat.

He retired due to a decline with the bat and creaking of his body.

Morgan admitted that back-to-back matches were becoming physical and that he had managed only one half-century in his last 26 knocks.

While Morgan still commanded the respect of his team-mates, Morgan the batter was struggling to hold off competition from a group of young pretenders.

He wanted England to win both the 50-over and T20 world titles. They missed out on the chance to play in the World Cup in 2020 and were beaten in the semi-finals in the World Cup in 2021.

His wife Tara is Australian and another tilt in Australia later this year would have been a fitting farewell.

Morgan's influence will live on under a new captain and coach. The batting will make them a frightening prospect for whoever they face in Australia, but the pace bowling has been weakened by injuries. The 50-over World Cup will take place in India next year.

As for Morgan, he will continue to play for London Spirit in The Hundred and will also become a pundit. He will be employed as a coach by franchises from all over the world.

His legacy is assured even if he doesn't achieve anything else in the game.

One of the greatest moments in this country's sporting history took place at Lord's in 2019.

Sir Bobby Moore and Martin Johnson are the only other England captains to win a World Cup.

Morgan is one of the greatest English athletes of all time.

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