Reigning champions England have misplaced three of their opening 4 World Cup matches, with Saturday’s 229-run thrashing by South Africa in Mumbai their heaviest one-day worldwide defeat.
AFP Sport seems at the place issues have been going incorrect for Jos Buttler’s males within the 50-over sport.
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– Decision-making –
England had the prospect to dictate phrases towards South Africa after Jos Buttler received the toss in Mumbai. Yet regardless of the oppressive warmth and humidity he selected to bowl, exposing his complete facet to the energy-sapping situations on the Wankhede Stadium.
Buttler, talking on the toss, stated “this is generally a good ground for chasing”.
But, not for the primary time, it appeared as if England have been making a transfer based mostly on meagre historic proof reasonably than confronting the rapid current of fielding first within the warmth of the afternoon.
Several gamers suffered with paceman David Willey among the many worst-affected as he struggled with cramp.
“On reflection, I thought the heat was more than what we bargained for,” stated England white-ball coach Matthew Mott.
But given England have been in India for a number of weeks, that they had little motive to be shocked by the climate in Mumbai.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain was scathing, contrasting the present strategy with that of 2019 World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan.
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“Eoin Morgan used statistics, but there was a lot of gut feeling there too,” Hussain advised Sky Sports. “You need to get your decisions right, don’t just go to your default settings.”
– Chasing now not England’s power –
Buttler’s toss name was all of the extra shocking provided that one statistic he ought to have been conscious of is England’s poor current file batting second in ODIs — Saturday’s reverse was their seventh loss of their final eight accomplished run-chases at this stage.
That checklist features a 69-run defeat by Afghanistan of their earlier World Cup match, though the temptation to dismiss that loss as a ‘freak result’ could have clouded their pondering.
“The last time both England and South Africa played, they fell short chasing the target, so they need to be careful about what stats they are looking at,” stated Hussain.
– Ageing facet lack new-ball penetration –
With the exception of Reece Topley, whose World Cup may very well be over after he suffered a hand damage on Saturday, England have struggled to make an influence with the brand new ball.
All three of their defeats have featured a serious innings by an opposition opener, with the 85 by South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks the most recent, in addition to vital top-order partnerships.
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Chris Woakes was dropped after taking simply two wickets in three video games at a vastly costly common of 67.5, however his replacements fared little higher because the Proteas piled up a mammoth 399-7.
England have lengthy prided themselves on consistency of choice, but they recalled Ben Stokes, Willey and Gus Atkinson towards South Africa instead of Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Woakes.
Even then, they fielded an XI that includes simply three gamers below the age of 32, an indication of how reliant T20 world champions England have change into on previous ODI glories since 2019.
The ease with which Stokes — out for simply 5 on Saturday in his first match of the event — was allowed to reverse his ODI retirement for the World Cup, regardless of ongoing doubts over his bowling health, spoke volumes.
Meanwhile the downgrading of the home 50-over competitors to the margins of the English season has hampered the event of a brand new era of ODI cricketers.
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Having revamped their one-day sport after a 2015 World Cup debacle, England may have a recent re-think after this version as effectively.
© Agence France-Presse
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