PROVIDENCE, Guyana — England captain Paul Collingwood and Ireland counterpart William Porterfield both lauded Eoin Morgan's display in their rain-marred World Twenty20 clash.
Without former Ireland batsman Morgan's 45, England - who went through to the second round because of a superior run-rate to that of the Irish - would have struggled to reach their final total of 120 for eight.
It was the left-hander's second impressive innings in as many days after he'd also top scored with 55 out of a total of 191 against the West Indies here on Monday.
England lost to the West Indies by eight wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method after rain left the home side with a revised target of 60 in six overs.
Meanwhile rain prevented either side winning at all in the England-Ireland match, with fewer than four overs, as opposed to the minimum five needed for a result under tournament rules, possible in Ireland's reply.
But the worth of Morgan's innings was that, although the points were shared for a no result washout, England qualified for the Super Eights as runners-up to the West Indies in Group D on superior run-rate after Ireland were dismissed for a tournament record low of 68 by the hosts last week.
And because the Dubliner's runs against both the West Indies and Ireland were made in the first innings there was no way anyone could have known for certain how downpours would give them a different context.
Morgan, who three years ago appeared for Ireland against England at the World Cup in the Caribbean, changed allegiance to pursue a goal of playing Test cricket, a level to which his homeland aspires but has yet to reach.
Collingwood, dismissed for nought against Ireland, for one was very glad the 23-year-old Morgan was now a team-mate and no longer an opponent.
"He's a very versatile player. He's got the power, he can play all the shots but he's also got a good mind and that's what you need in the middle order," Collingwood said of the Middlesex batsman.
"You've got to adjust to the situation, and he seems to be reading it pretty well," he added. "I'm absolutely delighted the way Morgs is going and progressing as a player."
His comments were backed up by Porterfield, who said: "I've played against him (Morgan) a few times, but it is a bit different when he's out in the middle in a big game like that.
"Especially over the last six to eight months, he's kicked on big time."
Collingwood, who'd fumed about the Duckworth-Lewis method for rain-affected matches after Monday's loss, said: "I guess the rain's come around today (Tuesday) at a time that's got us through to the next stage.
Meanwhile Porterfield was proud of the way Ireland played after a potentially morale-shattering loss to the West Indies.
"The way we came out today, after Friday's disappointment, was great. If we can take that into every game, we'll go places."
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