Irishman Eoin Morgan's World Cup captaincy of the English team didn't start well on Friday, when they were thoroughly brutalised by New Zealand in Wellington.

Though hardly the most pressing matter for England in this World Cup, Piers Morgan - who is half Irish - took to Twitter to raise issue with the singing of the national anthem - or rather Eoin Morgan's silence during 'God Save the Queen.'

And if you want to captain England, @Eoin16 - then sing the damn national anthem, too.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 22, 2015

I'm Irish, but if I made myself available to play for England at any sport, I'd sing the English national anthem. End.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 22, 2015

Former English footballer and BBC pundit Gary Lineker took to the cricketer's defence:

Though hardly the most pressing matter for England in this World Cup, Piers Morgan took to Twitter to raise issue with the singing of the national anthem - or rather Eoin Morgan's silence during 'God Save the Queen.'

@piersmorgan @Eoin16 you show your pride with your performance. You give your all on the field. Singing is for show, an irrelevance.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 22, 2015

 England's next World Cup challenge is against Sri Lanka, who they face in Wellington on Sunday.