Eoin Morgan puts England before IPL cash

If there is any good to come from the Kevin Pietersen debacle it could be in highlighting the dangers of becoming obsessed with the Indian Premier League, a competition Eoin Morgan appears to have spurned after he announced that he would be swapping IPL for county cricket next season.

Morgan, a key member of England's one-day team to play South Africa at the Ageas Bowl today, has played in three IPL tournaments, which has meant missing championship cricket for his county Middlesex. His motivation for changing that now is to win back his place in the Test team, his priority, he says, since he first came to England from Ireland at the age of 15.

"If I'm involved in international cricket, it always takes priority, and if I'm within one or two positions of getting my Test place back I'll probably make the decision myself to come back and play county cricket," said Morgan yesterday. "If I'm in the framework then things might have to change, definitely."

Morgan, who used to be unrepentant about playing the IPL ahead of county cricket, is signed to Kolkata Knight Riders, though he did not play once for them last season. The frustrations of sitting on the bench followed by Pietersen's travails in the face of the unbending stance taken by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which allows its contracted players to play about half a tournament, seem to have sparked a change in attitude.

"The IPL has been around now for five years and there is always conflicting schedules no matter which country you play for," said Morgan. "If it came about that I was back in the Test team during the IPL I'd be the happiest bloke in the world."

At the moment he senses he is three or four places off making a return to Test cricket after being dropped following England's 3-0 defeat by Pakistan last February. With Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor and Ravi Bopara ahead of him and with the Pietersen problem yet to be resolved, he is probably right, but Taylor has yet to convince fully and Pietersen could be cast out into the wilderness, which would put him within an injury or a form dip of getting back into the team.

Morgan is the one batsman who can rival Pietersen for inventiveness and bravado, though Ian Bell could give both a run for their money should he sustain the cameo of controlled hitting that he produced against South Africa at Cardiff on Friday, before rain ruined the game.

Bell's promotion to open in place of Pietersen, who retired from international one-day cricket at the end of May, has enabled England to continue a winning streak that has now extended to 10 games, one shy of equalling the record that Graham Gooch's side put together 20 years ago.

"Ian has come in and been amazing and done really well," said Morgan. "Our focus as a side is to progress up the rankings and build towards the World Cup and Champions Trophy next year and I think we're making huge steps towards doing that by bringing in match-winners who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and move forward."

Bell is not the only one to have prospered in Pietersen's absence and Bopara has revelled since the latter's departure. In the recent four-nil win against Australia, he averaged 91 in four games, playing with the kind of authority he shows regularly for Essex but not so frequently for England.

"I think regardless of the opportunity that it creates, the extra responsibility has allowed Ravi to take the reins and blossom as a cricketer, which is brilliant," said Morgan. "I've practised with Ravi for years and it's now that he's really showing the cricketer he is capable of being."

England's batting order is likely to be the same as at Cardiff though there might be a change in the bowling with Samit Patel poised to replace Chris Woakes if the pitch, which is often prepared to turn for Hampshire's spinners Danny Briggs and Liam Dawson, should look as if it might take spin.

Including a second spinner would be South Africa's only proposed change too, given that Dale Steyn and Albie Morkel remain unavailable through injury, their priority having shifted to the World T20 in a few weeks' time.

The Hampshire ground has been a good one for Morgan, the left-hander having made two hundreds in his four internationals at the venue.

With England's selectors soon to pick the Test squad for the tour of India, another big score today would be timely given the importance of one-day runs here over those in the IPL as a stepping stone to the Test team.