Departing hero Morgan dropped as Irish lose out to Kenya

WHAT a way to treat a hero. Two days after helping Ireland to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, Eoin Morgan was yesterday dropped and assigned to 12th man duties as his team-mates lost to Kenya by six wickets in their final Super Eight match.

Officially Morgan was left out because he will not be available for Sunday’s final against Canada but no-one at the LC de Villiers Oval yesterday was in any doubt he was being punished for his desire to leave the tournament early to rejoin county side Middlesex.

On the other side of Gauteng, Scotland must have been furious because to qualify for the World Cup themselves they not only needed to beat the UAE by a large margin — which they did — but also to see Kenya lose, which would have been the probable result against the full Ireland side.