Eoin Morgan to captain Middlesex in T20 Blast

He will succeed Dawid Malan, who has joined Yorkshire, as the England limited-overs skipper embarks on a testimonial year at the club

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Eoin Morgan will captain Middlesex in next season’s T20 Blast.

He will succeed Dawid Malan, who has joined Yorkshire, as the England limited-overs skipper embarks on a testimonial year at the club.

Stuart Law’s side enjoyed their best year in the competition for some time, reaching only a second quarter-final since lifting the trophy in 2008.

They were assisted by the overseas signings of AB de Villiers and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with the latter’s return for the 2020 season already confirmed by the club.

Morgan, who will feature for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League during the first part of the summer, played a key role for Middlesex in the 2019 tournament.

He made 70 off just 37 deliveries against Surrey at Lord’s in a thumping win over the club’s local rivals, before a remarkable unbeaten 83 from only 29 balls dragged his team through a winner-takes-all clash against Somerset on the final night of the group stage.

He finished the 2019 competition with 341 runs at an average of almost 43 and a strike rate of just under 170.

^{Morgan played a match-winning innings for Middlesex at Taunton}

Law said of Morgan’s appointment: “I’m really excited to have Morgs at the helm for our T20 campaign. He is currently the best white-ball captain around and will offer a great deal of experience on and off the field to the team in this format.

“I can’t wait to start working with him to build a squad of players to challenge in this format.”

Morgan himself added: “I’m delighted to be awarded the T20 captaincy. The role is one that I have really enjoyed.

“We’ve got an exciting group of players here at Middlesex, with plenty of talent and a good blend of youth and experience, and I’m really looking forward to helping the club build on the improvements we made in this format last year.”