Ben Stokes backs Eoin Morgan to continue as captain

England Test captain Ben Stokes has supported Eoin Morgan to continue as the captain of the limited-overs side. The pace-bowling all-rounder doesn't believe Morgan is having a hard time despite a couple of poor shows with the bat.

Notably, Morgan, who missed the third and final ODI against the Netherlands due to a groin injury, has registered ducks in the first two matches. Despite favourable batting conditions and the rest of the batters scoring plenty of runs, the veteran failed to contribute in either game.

Stokes has stated that the media has constantly been giving Morgan a hard time and that the players are behind the captain. The 31-year-old also said that he feels the veteran is allowed a run drought and called him a 'phenomenal leader'.

"I think the press are the only ones giving him a hard time, and I think the players have shown it's not an issue with them. He's only had two low scores so I wouldn't say he's going through a hard time at the moment.

People are allowed not to score many runs, and he's our captain. He's a phenomenal leader and always will be, so I've got no issues with anything going on with him at the moment," the veteran all-rounder said, as quoted by BBC.

It is also noteworthy that Morgan has scored only one half-century in 48 innings for England. He has also managed only 68 runs in six matches in the T20 World Cup last year and 30 runs in the T20 series against the West Indies this year as well.

On the other hand, veteran batter Jos Buttler, who was the stand-in captain against the Dutch on Wednesday, also backed Morgan by saying no one has questioned his position as the captain of the team and he further added that Morgan has taken the team to great heights also.

"There's certainly no questioning of his position from within the camp. I can't put into words what he's achieved. Everyone always talks about his captaincy but you forget what a brilliant batsman he's been for England in more than 200 ODIs. 

That doesn't just go away overnight. Everyone in the team is backing him. I'm disappointed for Morgs to miss out but it's a good challenge and an honour to captain the team," he stated.

However, England swept the three-match ODI series against the Netherlands, winning all three matches convincingly. Buttler also won the player-of-the-series award for his stunning show of 248 runs in two innings.