Eoin Morgan, England's World Cup winning captain, announces retirement from international cricket

Eoin Morgan has brought the curtains down on an illustrious international career in which he became the first England captain to win an ODI World Cup.

Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup winning England captain, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Morgan, 35, brings to an end a career in which he is credited to have fundamentally changed England's approach to limited overs cricket, eventually leading them to their first-ever ODI World Cup title.

Eoin Morgan led England to their maiden World Cup triumph in 2019.  (Reuters)

"After careful deliberation and consideration, I am here to announce my retirement from international cricket with immediate effect," Morgan said in an ECB release on Tuesday (June 28). "To call time on what has been without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding chapter of my career hasn't been an easy decision, but I believe now is the right time to do so, both for me, personally, and for both England white-ball sides I have led to this point.

Morgan initially started out as an Ireland player, making his debut in August 2006 in a match against Scotland. He was run out on 99 in the game and declared Player of the Match. Morgan then made his debut for England in an ODI against the West Indies in May 2009. He played his entire T20I and his brief Test career for England.

"From my start in the international arena with Ireland to winning the World Cup in 2019, I have never lost sight of how integral family support is to any international sportsperson. To my Mum and Dad, my wife, Tara, and our family around the world, thank you for your unconditional support throughout the good and more challenging times in my career. Without you all, this incredible journey would not have been possible," Morgan said further.

"I must also thank my teammates, coaches, supporters, and those behind the scenes who have made my career and any successes possible. I am hugely proud of what I have achieved as a player and captain, but the things I will cherish and remember the most are the memories I made with some of the greatest people I know along the way."

Morgan scored 700 runs in 16 Test matches, playing his last red ball match for England in February 2012. However, Morgan would go on to become one of the most important figures in the history of England's limited-overs cricket. Of the 7701 ODI runs Morgan scored across 248 matches, 6957 were made after switching allegiance from Ireland to England in 2009. This makes him England's all-time highest runs scorer in the format. 13 of the 14 ODI centuries he has scored has also been for England. In T20Is he scored 2458 runs in 115 matches at a strike rate of 136.17.

"I have been lucky enough to play in two World Cup winning teams, but I believe the future for England's white-ball teams is brighter than ever. We have more experience, more strength and more depth than ever before. I look forward to watching on with a huge level of excitement. To what lies ahead for me, I will continue to enjoy playing at a domestic level while I can. I'm really looking forward to playing and captaining London Spirit in the second edition of The Hundred this year," he added.

However, Morgan's most important legacy would be as captain of the England limited overs side. After taking over a team made up largely of Test specialists post their 2015 World Cup debacle, Morgan transformed the team into record-breaking big hitters. England have rewritten the record for the highest team total in ODI match three times under Morgan and they eventually went on to win the World Cup in 2019.

"Eoin was an exceptional talent from his early days with the Ireland team and over the years he developed into a top-class batter and captain, leading England's resurgence in limited-overs cricket culminating in that quite extraordinary World Cup victory at Lord's in 2019. On behalf of the ICC, I congratulate him for an outstanding career and wish him every success in the next phase of his career," ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.