Development of our game is more important than a series win: Morgan

England will be without the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes in the forthcoming five-match T20I series in West Indies but England's white-ball captain Eoin Morgan feels this series will give the fringe players an opportunity to make an early case for the next T20 World Cup in Australia. 

The aforementioned players recently featured in the Ashes series and only Sam Billings has travelled to West Indies despite featuring in the fifth Test at Hobart. However, the likes of Tom Banton, Billings, George Garton, Saqib Mahmood, Tymal Mills, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and James Vince have all played in the Big Bash League and Morgan believes that will help England plan better for the World Cup.

"The one benefit we have, we know our guys play well in Australia, so projecting towards that makes us feel a little more at ease. It makes us feel a little bit more comfortable. We know what works out in Australia. So planning the method that we're trying to implement will be very similar to the method that we used," said Morgan ahead of the first T20I, which will be played in Barbados on Saturday (January 22).

"A lot of talented guys will get opportunities throughout this series which is very exciting, not only for the team, but for them as well. They don't get a lot of opportunities to go through a process like this so, for our long-term planning, as we strive to have deeper, stronger squads, it's very important. The group that we would normally take to a World Cup has been together for quite some time, so the planning behind that is important to us."

Morgan said England will focus more on developing new players rather than trying hard to win the series. "The whole tour is one where the development of our game is more important than a series win. We've gone through this process before, and identifying the level of intensity, and our performance is far more important than the result.

"Normally the result looks after itself, and going through that process has kept the identity of the team strong. The mantra in which we play has created a very healthy environment, and hopefully guys that come in can feel comfortable enough to try and apply that."

England have been a dominant force in white-ball cricket for the last five years. They reached the semifinals of the 2017 Champions Trophy and then won the 2019 World Cup at home. They also managed to qualify for the semifinals of the 2021 T20 World Cup but lost to New Zealand. Morgan said it’s important for a team to reset after every global tournament and get players who will be handy in the upcoming mega events.

"Sometimes it takes longer than other situations, but you need to have the courage to go through this. To be vulnerable enough to go back and learn, and go through the same process we did four years ago and then two years after that, in order to see long-term results."