England’s prospects in limited-overs cricket are being compromised by a poor domestic schedule, according to Eoin Morgan

George Dobell14-Nov-2014England’s prospects in limited-overs cricket are being compromised by a poor domestic schedule, according to Eoin Morgan.Morgan, one of the few regulars in the England side to be in demand in domestic leagues around the world, believes England are “falling behind massively” due to what he perceives to be the low standard of the NatWest T20 Blast and the lack of exposure England players gain in overseas leagues.While Morgan was reluctant to call for the introduction of a city-based franchise system in the UK – “I’m not allowed to tell you,” he said when asked – he did suggest T20 in England should be played in a mid-summer window and that more should be done be done to allow availability for the Big Bash, the IPL and other domestic leagues.”If you look at where our domestic T20 competition is at and our international campaign is, we’re falling behind massively and the reason is right there in front of us,” Morgan said.”Guys aren’t exposing themselves enough to the better standard of opposition and it is right in front of our eyes.”It is understandable why we prioritise Test match cricket and why everybody wants to play Test match cricket. But for guys who want to succeed and might find a channel in going through T20, one-day cricket and then Tests, I think it is hugely important they expose themselves to the Big Bash and the IPL.”Something has to be done about the standard [of English domestic T20 cricket]. There needs to be a window in order to significantly improve performance so guys can concentrate on that format.”One, it would help get overseas guys in, but two, it would improve the standard with guys focusing on one form of the game.”England have experimented with a window for domestic T20 in the past. But it was eventually concluded that the unreliability of the British climate rendered that impractical. It also threatened the integrity of the other competitions, squeezing the County Championship to the beginning and end of the season – an enduring issue – and did not allow time for an 18-county competition.But if a franchise system were introduced, perhaps incorporating nine teams or fewer, Morgan feels the window would prove more beneficial.”Do I think the franchise model might have a place in England? Yes, I think it would.”The difficulty comes because we have so many counties. So having a franchise system would mean that the majority of counties miss out, but financially I’m sure they would be rewarded.”I think in order for T20 cricket to move forward, something significant needs to be done about it.”But even though Morgan feels playing county cricket was of no benefit to his game, he insists he has no regrets over his decision to pull out of the IPL auction this year and will have no hesitation in doing so again if he feels he has a chance of selection for the Test side.”Playing a full season of county cricket didn’t make me a better international cricketer,” he said. “It probably made me a better county cricketer, but they are different skills.”For example, the first six weeks of county cricket was championship cricket. So in pre-season Middlesex just focused on championship cricket. We massively under-performed in the first game, but the second week was a bit better and the third week progressively better and started to hit our straps. There was complete direction and no confusion.”Something like that needs to happen in T20 cricket.”While T20 might seem of little relevance heading into a World Cup campaign, Morgan feels that the format is increasingly influential to the 50-over game.”Yes, T20 cricket is having a much bigger influence on 50 over cricket now,” he said. “T20 cricket breeds confidence and allows for younger guys to come through and have success.”When you go abroad to play in a tournament, you are the overseas player. You are one of four or one of two and you have to take on that responsibility.”Alex Hales has gone and played, Luke Wright has done it for a number of years. If we could get more guys in I would love it, and particularly in the IPL, playing in front of 40 or 50,000 people week in week out.”Morgan, though, remains unsure if he will feature in the 2015 auction and suggested it could well come down to whether he feels he has a realistic chance of a Test recall.”I just don’t know,” he said. “It will depend how I get on this winter. I’d have to have a significantly outstanding winter in order to be anywhere near recognition of getting back in. But Test cricket is still the ultimate, definitely.”It was the right decision to miss it this year. It has sat well for me for a long time. It’s just that it didn’t work out. And things in life don’t always work out.”There were two or three places up for grabs. But I didn’t score enough runs in the first five weeks and to be honest, I didn’t throughout the summer. I did reasonably well. But I didn’t stand out. I needed to get runs under my belt to get back into the Test team. That didn’t happen.”Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. Visit investec.co.uk/cricket or follow us @InvestecCricket