National anthem leaves Morgan lost for words

National anthems are routinely played at ICC world tournaments, but singing them out loud has never been regarded as obligatory… has it?

Eoin Morgan, England's Dublin-born captain, has enough problems to deal with without being the subject of media debate about why he has never sung the national anthem during his six years of playing for England. As captain, though, it is now deemed to matter.

"I have never sang the national anthem when playing for Ireland or England," he said. "It does not make me any less proud to be an English cricketer. It is a long story. It is a personal thing."

Personal reasons not to offer up a stirring rendition of God Save the Queen deserve respect - millions in Britain view it with discomfort - and, in Morgan's case, there is also the history of the troubles that have bedevilled the history between England and Ireland.

Such complexities have been dismissed, though, by Kevin Jennings, the deputy headmaster at the Catholic University School in Dublin where Morgan was a pupil: he told the Daily Telegraph it was more likely to be down to "shyness".

Predictably the message boards and social media have reverberated with the debate about whether Morgan has inalienable right not to sing an anthem or whether he has now been exposed as an imposter, adopting England as a matter of convenience. The fact several England players choose not to sing has been conveniently overlooked.

Meanwhile, Morgan might take comfort from the picture on this story which suggests that Australia's captain Michael Clarke does not exactly belt out every note.