"It's a day for everyone in that changing room to be very proud of," says Morgan
Tuesday 19 June 2018 22:08, UK
Eoin Morgan says England operated at "a different level" as they hit a world-record total en route to crushing Australia by 242 runs at Trent Bridge.
England smashed 481-6 in the third ODI to top the 444-3 they amassed against Pakistan at the same venue in 2016, before bundling Australia out for 239 to take an 3-0 unassailable lead in the series.
Alex Hales (147), Jonny Bairstow (139) and Jason Roy (82) fired for England in the top three, before Morgan smashed 67 from 30 balls - including a national record 21-ball fifty - as he leapfrogged Ian Bell as his side's leading run scorer in ODIs.
Adil Rashid (4-47) and Moeen Ali (3-28) then combined to dismiss Australia in just 37 overs, earn England a seventh ODI series win in succession, and leave Morgan purring.
"It's a day for everyone in that changing room to be very proud of," said Morgan at the presentation.
"The way we operated and the level of intensity we brought to the game was on a different level to what we have produced in any performance over the last three years.
"It was as close to a complete performance as we have ever got to. Outstanding performances backed up by guys being relentless."
Roy and Bairstow bludgeoned 159 for the first wicket, before Hales and Bairstow teamed up to slam 151 for the second as England threatened to become the first team to hit 500 in ODI cricket.
Morgan, who then shared a rapid 124-run stand with Hales for the fourth wicket, was delighted with the trio and hopes they can continue their form in the final two games of the series as England target a whitewash.
"It's never a case of them just getting a score," he said. "They are operating at a level and strike rate the team want them to operate at. They stick to our mantra and are a huge asset to have
"It's great they are in our side and there are now two more opportunities for them to score big runs. Hopefully they will continue to be as hungry."
England have underpinned their tag as favourites for next year's World Cup on home soil but Morgan says his team cannot afford to relax.
"We need to be on top of our game in case any trend changes," he added.
"The 50-over game has moved forward dramatically over the last three or four years and we have put ourselves in a position to adapt wherever we have gone.
"If we can continue with that attitude between now and next year we will be in a good space."
Defeated Australia skipper Tim Paine described England as the "yardstick of 50-over cricket" after their scintillating display in Nottingham.
But the 33-year-old believes his side - who are missing Steve Smith and David Warner due to the ball-tampering scandal and senior seamers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins due to injury - will be a different proposition come next year as they look to defend the World Cup.
"That was extraordinary - some of the best striking I have seen. It was as hard a day of cricket as I have had in 16 or 17 years," said the visiting captain. "You have to take your hat off to the English boys, they are red hot at the moment and are the yardstick of 50-over cricket.
"We are getting some games into our inexperienced quicks and there is no better place to learn than on the job. We want to learn quickly and it was a learning experience.
"Twelve months is a long time in cricket and we have potentially six guys to come back into the World Cup squad. Hopefully by then we will have a lot more depth."
Watch the fourth ODI, from Durham, live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401) from 1.30pm on Thursday.
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