NASSER HUSSAIN: No excuses for this group of players being bottom

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NASSER HUSSAIN: No excuses for this group of players being bottom of the pile… how have an England side with all that talent go themselves into such a situation?

  • England have lost five of their six matches during their ODI World Cup defence
  • They suffered a 100-run defeat to hosts India on Sunday in their latest match-up
  • Jos Buttler’s side only had to dig in early and it would have become easier to bat

When I look at that World Cup table it reminds me of the very first thing Duncan Fletcher said when we came together as captain and coach of England.

Duncan said ‘you may not be the best team in the world but you’re certainly not the worst’ which is how we were rated in Test cricket at the time.

Now I’m thinking ‘okay, India were always going to be hard to beat in their home World Cup but there is no way England should be at the bottom with five defeats from six games.’

How have an England side with all that talent in their dressing room got themselves into this situation where they are all but out of this World Cup?

How have an England team with players of the calibre of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid and so many others ended up in this position where they might even be struggling to qualify for the next Champions Trophy?

England find themselves in a fight to qualify for the Champions Trophy after losing yet again at the ODI World Cup

Jos Buttler’s side have lost five of their six matches in India, losing by 100 runs to the hosts on Sunday afternoon

England have so much talent in their side yet have found themselves in plenty of trouble with selection and performances

It seems as though there has been a downward spiral that has taken over virtually since the start of the tournament. They lost their first game against New Zealand, then beat Bangladesh but made mistakes before and during their defeat by Afghanistan.

Then England double downed on those mistakes and made even worse decisions regarding their selection. Their confidence, as a consequence, has imploded to the point where they were very much up against it coming here for their biggest test.

Not that England got things wrong at first against India. The toss was a 50-50 decision and they did everything right in the field. I thought they bowled better than at any time so far in this World Cup and I couldn’t fault the captaincy of Buttler.

At that stage the match was going as I expected. It wasn’t easy for India to bat first on a slightly tricky pitch and I expected the ball to skid on under lights for England batting second after the dew had come down to make it more difficult for India to bowl.

England bowled well, restricting their opponents to 229/9 from their 50 overs and were favourites at the halfway stage

Adil Rashid (second left) took two wickets for just 35 runs, with David Willey and Chris Woakes also starring

What England had to do was come through that tricky five to 10 over period at the start of their innings when the new ball was going to nip around and then things would have become easier for them.

So for me, old-fashioned as I am, that was the time when they needed to grind it out and survive that difficult spell you get in any form of the game. Wait, hang on in there, survive and then go again when the spinners are on and life is a bit easier.

I was on commentary at that time with Eoin Morgan, when Ben Stokes was batting, and that is when we disagreed. Eoin would have tried to hit the ball into the outfield to try to make it wet and harder to bowl with and that’s exactly what Stokes tried to do.

It is very rare Ben gets it wrong and he has been the key man in so many difficult situations in different forms of cricket over the years. But I’m not sure he got it right this time and contributed to England again losing wickets in the power-play. And it’s very hard to come back from 39 for four even if you are chasing a less than formidable India total.

Captain Jos Buttler was bowled for just 10 as his poor World Cup with the bat continued

Ben Stokes, meanwhile, tried to take the attack to India but was too bowled, though without scoring a run

Former England captain Eoin Morgan will argue England should have gone harder, but they may have just had to dig in

Morgan will argue England should have gone harder yesterday and he has a World Cup triumph and white-ball transformation to his name to back up his view. But there were times when his England had to sit in and play a different game, notably in their 2019 victory.

There may be a remote mathematical chance of England still getting to the last four but it’s not going to happen. They are out of this tournament and all they can do now is try to pull this around, beat Australia on Saturday and regain as much pride as possible.

I’m not one for throwing out all the players and starting to plan for the future now. While there is a point one per cent chance of qualifying you have to pick your strongest team and give everything they can, especially against the old enemy and with automatic qualification for the next Champions Trophy now on the line.

That’s what England have to do but they are doing it from a position of weakness at the very bottom of this table – and not one person in cricket saw that coming.

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