Eoin Morgan has backed his successor as white-ball captain, Jos Buttler, to deliver a strong message to his England team after they suffered a 10-wicket hammering by India in the first one-day international of their three-match series.
Buttler's side were bowled out for 110 in just 25.2 overs at The Kia Oval on Tuesday - Jasprit Bumrah (6-19) claiming record figures for a bowler against England - with Rohit Sharma then smashing an unbeaten 78 from 56 balls to see India to an emphatic win. The loss in the one-dayer followed a 2-1 defeat in the T20Is.
"I know what this feels like," Morgan told Sky Sports. "It's not nice - you focus inwards, not outwards.
"But, having had the experience both playing and leading previously that Jos has had, he will see this as an opportunity in that changing room to reiterate a very clear and strong message about where they are going and what they're doing.
"People will be in that changing room wanting to flinch and wanting an out, but that is the time to lead.
"You can give the best possible message to somebody, and if they're not listening it doesn't go anywhere. But I can guarantee you that when you lose, everybody in the changing room listens.
"A clear-cut message from your leader at times like this, and for your senior players to embody it, is crucial."
"They want to be at the forefront of performance, winning World Cups and considered to be the best side in the world. And I think that's what he will be saying to his side."
Buttler wanted his side to focus on their strengths without panicking.
"You certainly don't want days like this to come," Buttler said after the match. "They have come few and far between so it's tough to take.
"It's certainly key not to panic, not to look too much into it and find too many faults. India bowled fantastically well and we didn't manage to deal with it as well as we'd have liked.
"But, if I look back over the past five or six years, batting has been our super strength in this form of the game. You look at the names of the guys in there, they are some of the best players we've had.
"We'll try and learn from it as much as we can but we'll stick to what we know. There's huge trust in that dressing room that there are brilliant players in there.
"We need to be positive, get back out there and put things right when we play on Thursday [in the second ODI at Lord's]."
