England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff

Morgan insists Tests are his priority

Eoin Morgan has brushed aside questions about his commitment to England and insisted that Test cricket is his first priority. Morgan chose IPL riches with Kolkata Knight Riders over first-class cricket with Middlesex this season but was named ahead of Ravi Bopara, who had opted for Championship cricket instead, in England's Test squad to face Sri Lanka.

On the eve of the squad announcement, Morgan said he would return to the IPL if he wasn't selected but thanks to his 193 for England Lions against Sri Lanka at Derby, he pipped Bopara to the No. 6 position.

Despite Morgan's inclusion in the squad, national selector Geoff Miller said he "will be having a chat to him about what his priorities are and make him aware of where we're coming from." Morgan, however, felt there was no issue.

"My priorities are quite clear," Morgan told reporters. "Test match cricket comes first and always has done. It's why I play the game, it's where everybody tests themselves and what everybody is judged on."

In explaining why he would have returned to Kolkata if not selected in the Test squad, Morgan said he had to fulfil his contract and also that the experience gained at the IPL would help his development more than playing Championship cricket would.

"If I wasn't picked for the squad I didn't want to hang around, dawdle and feel sorry for myself," he said. "Number one, I wanted to do something and number two, I was contractually obliged to go back out. I had no choice.

"The amount I learned last year just by playing five games and staying out there for the next three weeks, practising every day and rubbing shoulders with legends of the game, did massive amounts for me. I felt the progress I made in the month or two out there would exceed the four games I might play in county cricket."

Morgan only made 137 in nine knocks for Kolkata this season and conceded his decision to head to the IPL could have backfired. "It was a gamble, I knew that from the start. You have to gamble in order to throw yourself out there and do well. For me it was a hard decision but it was the right one."