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England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has stated that blaming the Hundred for England's 4-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia is "laughable," adding that Test match cricket has always been the team's focus.

"People that use that as an excuse don't want cricket. Test match cricket has always been the priority, it's the format for our elite players. Obviously times at the moment have been tough down in Australia during the Ashes [but] they always are. We've lost the last two series 5-0 [sic] and it's no surprise that Australia are very, very good at home, Morgan told talkSPORT's Following On podcast.

"Given the prep the guys have had where since they've arrived in Australia, until the first Test match, it has hammered it down with rain… it's laughable to point the finger at the Hundred. The Hundred is an unbelievable success. Our formats in county cricket and the Hundred, in the way they're structured, it's exactly the same as Australia's,”

"People need something to blame so they'll point at probably the furthest point to reality, because nobody wants to say, 'you know what, we haven't had the prep we would have liked, we probably haven't played as we'd have liked, and we've lost'. That happens in all formats, but I stress. Test match cricket has always been the priority” he added.

Morgan arrived in Barbados on Saturday along with England's T20I squad, which features only one player - Sam Billings, who is yet to arrive after a gruelling journey from Hobart - who was involved in the Ashes.

They are scheduled to play five matches against West Indies, starting Saturday.