GEORGE DOBELL: There was an unusual candour about Morgan. Asked once what his favourite thing about the city where his new franchise team was based, he replied along the lines of 'not much, really'
It's no surprise that Eoin Morgan has decided to end his professional playing career just months after announcing his retirement as an international cricketer.
It always seemed he may struggle to recapture the adrenalin rush of playing in the biggest matches and for the biggest prizes. That the effort taken to perform, not least the time away from home, would stop being worth the rewards. When you've tasted caviar, toast can seem bland. He reached 25 only once in his final 10 matches. He only made it to double figures in one of his final seven innings in The Hundred.
Now, with the body aching and just about every ambition fulfilled, there wasn't much to play for but the money. And that never seemed to be the motivating factor with Morgan.
There was a time when players might return to their domestic teams at the end of their international careers and fulfil a sort of role-model senior pro position. When it was suggested at a recent dinner that he could play a season or two for Middlesex, he roared with laughter. The game has changed and Morgan has been at the forefront of those changes.
His legacy was assured from the moment England won the 2019 World Cup. By then, he had transformed a timid bunch of also-rans into trend-setting world beaters. In four years, he saw his team set a host of records - most of them involving high scoring - with the silverware the most tangible reward for the progress. That day at Lord's will remain one of the high points in the history of England cricket.
Eoin Morgan has retired from all cricket [Getty Images]
But maybe just as important was the culture change Morgan helped spark in English cricket. Before Morgan, there was a mistrust of franchise leagues and a general conservatism in English cricket.
Now? Players are actively encouraged to pursue franchise opportunities - around 70 men have been involved in such competitions over the course of the English winter - while English batters are leading the way in terms of what is possible in the game. The roots of Bazball, as well as the World Cups in both formats, lead back to Morgan.
He wasn't the first to espouse such an attitude. But while Kevin Pietersen isolated himself with his requests to broaden his horizons, Morgan was able to take others with him on the journey. To some extent he may owe something to Pietersen there - things are often more difficult for the trail-blazers - and also something to timing.
By the end of the 2015 World Cup, people were desperate and prepared to try something different. Morgan's brand of aggression, based to a large extent around the Brendon McCullum style of play adopted by New Zealand, was an idea planted on fertile soil.
Maybe it's relevant that they were both, up to a point, outsiders, too. Pietersen, born and raised in South Africa, and Morgan, raised in Ireland, were both unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom.
Morgan is responsible for a huge shift in mindset about English white-ball cricket [Getty Images]
And if there were times when it seemed they might appear to bite the hand that fed them - be that county cricket, Irish cricket or whatever - most would also accept they played a valuable role in delivering some uncomfortable home truths.
There was an unusual candour about Morgan. Asked once what his favourite thing about the city where his new franchise team was based, he replied along the lines of 'not much, really'.
Another time, asked if he would consider 'writing' a book, he answered along the lines of 'no, all cricket books are rubbish' to a room full of people who wrote them. He was effusive in praise of The Hundred and scathing about county cricket in general. Blunt? Certainly. But honest and authentic, too. You knew where you stood with Morgan.
What's his future? Well, for now, he is going to be a pundit for various broadcasters. And very good he'll be, too. Unafraid to express himself, whether it's a popular view or not, he will offer insight and entertainment. Whether he finds it fulfilling is another question entirely.
Morgan will move into full-time broadcasting work... but could be be tempted into coaching? [Getty Images]
In the longer term, he is sure to be of interest as a coach or mentor to various teams. And with the surfeit of franchise leagues, he may not have to spend too long away from home to earn a terrific living.
Maybe he will find a role within administration, too. You're never too long from another review in English cricket. It may be that Morgan, like Sir Andrew Strauss and James Taylor before him, will be utilised to reflect on other aspects of the game. You would think the ECB wouldn't want to waste his talents or experience. Even if a conventional coaching or administrative role might prove a poor fit.
Whatever happens next, it has been a remarkable career. It wasn't just that he played in two World Cup-winning sides, that he set records for run-scoring and six-hitting, or that he was good enough to register two Test centuries. It was that he knew when to quit and lived the selflessness he espoused as a leader.
Few, if any, cricketers end their careers without feelings of loss and grief; it is a major change. But if there's anyone who can look back on a life well led to this stage, it is surely Eoin Morgan. No doubt he owes cricket much, but English cricket owes him a great deal, too.
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