Morgan overcomes dip in form during IPL

Eoin Morgan believes his IPL experience has been beneficial despite being limited to six appearances for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Morgan was bought for $220,000 on the back of some sparkling displays for England, but could only muster 35 runs in four innings in India before being pushed aside.

However, as many players have insisted, the IPL involvement was about more than just the on-field results for Morgan, although he was desperate to have more impact on Bangalore's tournament. Even when he wasn't involved in the action he was busy tapping the knowledge of his experienced team-mates.

"I think mentally I've come back a lot stronger," he said after England arrived in Guyana to prepare for their opening World Twenty20 match against West Indies on Monday. "I was left out of the squad a few times when I wanted to play. I felt good in my own game, but that's another learning experience I went through and hopefully I'll be a better player for it.

"Rubbing shoulders with the likes of [Anil] Kumble and [Rahul] Dravid and being able to pick their brains. Half of the South Africans were there too and Australians, so playing with the different nations gives you new ideas, especially for Twenty20."

He also hinted that there may be a few new tricks on show during the tournament. "I'm not going to reveal anything at the moment but we'll see how things go," he said.

Morgan has already shown a wide array of sweeps, paddles and scoops, and he has the ability to hit the ball huge distances with seemingly minimal effort. The emergence of Morgan in an England shirt has been one of key factors in the team's improved Twenty20 form in recent months.

He has brought much-needed power and innovation to the middle order and has already produced a couple of match-winning innings. Against South Africa, at Centurion, he slammed 85 off 45 balls and against Pakistan in Dubai in February he notched an unbeaten 67 off 51 to guide a successful run chase.

His quiet IPL raised concerns about his form coming into this event, but he allayed any worries after an impressive 63 off 62 balls in England's warm-up victory against South Africa in Barbados. The innings suggested he is ready to continue the form he showed during the winter tours.

"We've gained a lot of confidence knocking over South Africa and had a competitive game there where a couple of guys got a knock and the spinners bowled exceptionally well," he said. "That's exciting for us going into the group stages."

Although England's minds are firmly fixed on their first game against West Indies, their second fixture against Ireland will reunite Morgan with his former team-mates. He was part of the Irish squad that reached the Super Eights of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and although his personal contribution was minimal - including being run out for 2 against England in Guyana - it was a time he'll never forget.

"I've got some great memories playing for Ireland especially at the 2007 World Cup," he said. "The greatest in my mind is beating Pakistan on St Patrick's Day, which was a fantastic day for Irish cricket."

That, though, is as close to sentimental as Morgan will get as he prepares to face his countrymen and he is ready to share his knowledge with the England camp to help plot Ireland's downfall. "I'm living the dream at the moment by playing a World Cup for England and hopefully we'll be here for the final stages," he said. "It's where I want to be.

"I know a lot of the guys well and played against them for a number of years. But they'll be doing the same to us. They see us play all the time on television so will know plenty about us too."