Eoin Morgan Odds

Name: Eoin Morgan
Fact: Morgan maintains the same grip on his bat when performing a reverse sweep shot
Born: Dublin, Ireland
DOB: September 10 1986
Country: England
Major club teams: Middlesex, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders
Nickname: Moggie
Main role: Middle-order batsman
Batting style: Left-handed batsman
Bowling style: Right-arm medium pace
Leading achievements: The only player in history to score ODI centuries for two different nations (Ireland and England)

If ever there was a batsman who was a dab hand in completing a run chase then England’s Eoin Morgan is the ideal candidate, making him an appealing bet to top-score for England in the second innings of matches.

Morgan has an uncanny ability to hit boundaries and sixes in particular to all parts of the ground, with his unique array of shots helping with this.

Meanwhile, his calming temperament has come in handy on numerous occasions for England, most notably when batting second and behind the required run rate, again cementing his credentials as a solid bet for top-scoring batsman in the second innings.

Morgan has starred for England and Ireland

Morgan initially played for his home country of Ireland before transferring to England. This has helped him feature in the history books as the only player to have scored centuries in one-day cricket for two different nations, making him an attractive bet to hit a tonne in future one-day internationals for England.

For more cautious punters, a bet on Morgan hitting a half-century in ODIs could be worth backing when England face the West Indies in a three-game ODI series in June 2012.

Morgan has now also played his way into the England Test team and is an important member of the middle order, as shown by the fact he has hit 104 and 70 runs respectively in two of his last four Test appearances of 2011.

For this reason, it could prove fruitful to place a bet on Morgan to hit 50 or 100 runs when England meet the West Indies in a Test series in May 2012.