Eoin Morgan has praised Liam Plunkett for the way he has revived career as the pace bowler prepares to make his 50th ODI appearance for England against Ireland on Friday.
Plunkett is expected to feature in the fixture at the Brightside Ground in Bristol, coming off the back of his impressive performances during the 3-0 series win in the West Indies in March.
The 32-year-old made his England debut against Pakistan in Lahore at the age of 20 in 2005 but spent several years out of the frame as he made just two ODI appearances between July 2007 and June 2015.
Morgan, England’s ODI captain, says Plunkett has been in the best form of his career since his return to the side in 2015 and has become a leader in the team's attack.
“I think it’s amazing. He made his debut when he was only 20 and I think his career has been divided into two segments,” Morgan told ecb.co.uk.
“I think the latter part has been by far the best of his career. With the ball, he has never let us down and he has given 100 per cent.
“He’s probably been our best bowler recently, certainly in the West Indies on slow, low wickets. It can be quite demoralising as a fast bowler when you are charging in and getting nothing out of the wicket, but he’s a very persistent character.
“We have two or three guys now who can bowl at 90 miles per hour and he’s one of them. It’s great to see him achieve 50 caps.”
Meanwhile, Morgan is excited about the opportunity for Sam Billings to keep wicket in the two-match Royal London ODI series against Ireland, with the second fixture to be played at Lord’s on Sunday.
Billings has never player as the Three Lions’ wicketkeeper but has been selected to take the gloves instead of Jonny Bairstow while Jos Buttler remains in India playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Morgan added: “I’m excited to see Sam have a chance to keep wicket. He’s a very hard worker, he hasn’t had much of an opportunity with the gloves over the last couple of years but he’s been outstanding in the field for us.
“His contributions off the field are also as good as what he does on the field.
“His progression this year in particular has been fantastic, and that’s shown by the fact he was backed to open the batting for a franchise at the IPL. It shows where he is at as a player.
“He’s really excited to take the gloves and hopefully he will get a couple of scores as well.”