England's Eoin Morgan '˜We just didn't play at our best'

England captain Eoin Morgan refused to view the shock loss to Scotland as a catastrophe and paid tribute to the underdogs after yesterday's'¨sensational six-run win in a high-scoring '¨thriller, writes Duncan Smith.

England's Eoin Morgan walks off the field at the Grange. Picture: SNS.

The world No 1 one-day international side were embarrassed in Edinburgh but, ahead of a series against Australia which starts 
on Wednesday, Morgan chose to view it as 
valuable preparation.

“We certainly didn’t take Scotland lightly before this match and I think they probably played their best cricket today,” said the skipper after his side fell six runs short of an imposing 371-5 total which was an ODI record for the hosts. “We didn’t play anywhere near our best, we were a bit rusty, but credit to Scotland. We missed our lines with the ball a bit and with the bat we were not far off, [54-ball centurion] Jonny Bairstow was outstanding, but we didn’t see it through and that is annoying.

“The wicket was so good, but it was probably a 330-340 wicket and we just gave them too many runs. We didn’t do enough to win.”

Morgan accepted that Scotland had been fired-up for the game and out to make a point after narrowly failing to reach a World Cup which has been condensed to just ten nations by the ICC. “Upon reflection, having not qualified for the World Cup next year this will mean a huge amount for Scottish cricket,” said the former Ireland batsman, who made 20 runs in the match. “It will turn around their year and help them to push on further.

“Today was a really good run-out. Usually,
leading into a series we have a few days of training, then straight into it. Hopefully we will learn going into Wednesday’s game [against Australia at The Oval].”

Meanwhile, England bowler James Anderson will undergo rehab on an ongoing shoulder injury as he prepares for the Test series against India. Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, will take a six-week break from the game and miss two county games as he looks to get himself ready to face India later in the summer.

He has been forced to manage the ongoing shoulder injury for a while already, and will be monitored closely ahead of the five-Test series, which starts on 1 August.