Morgan backing ahead of Ashes

Eoin Morgan has been backed by county and country bosses to cement his place in the England Test side ahead of this winter's Ashes.

The Irish-born Middlesex batsman retained his place ahead of Essex's Ravi Bopara for Thursday's first Test against Pakistan, having made scores of 44 and 37 in his first two five-day games against Bangladesh earlier this summer.

National selector Geoff Miller told BBC Radio Five Live: ‘Bopara has been playing really well but we want to see a bit more from Eoin, he played well for Middlesex in his last game.

‘Yes, we want to win this match and win this series but we have an eye on the winter as well and we have got to make sure that the equation is sorted, so Eoin keeps his place.’

That decision was backed by Middlesex director of cricket Angus Fraser, who saw Morgan make 58 not out as he and England team-mate Steven Finn dug in to stave off defeat against Sussex yesterday.

On the limited-overs specialist's suitability for the longer form, Fraser told Sky Sports News: ‘We saw that yesterday, when he made 50 or 60 to save the game for Middlesex.

‘Yes, he's got all the shots to play Twenty20 and to star in one-day cricket but the great thing about Eoin is that he plays the situation and he's got the game to do that, so I think he will make a real success of Test cricket too.’