England’s head coach, Matthew Mott, has come out in defence of Jos Buttler’s comment about their team not walking into the ODI World Cup to defend their title in India. The defending World Champions have underperformed in the marquee event, failing to make a significant impact in the tournament.
The defending champions will be under extreme pressure to win their remaining games to advance to the ODI World Cup‘s final four after the Jos Buttler-led side was shocked by Afghanistan in their third match and suffered a hefty defeat in the hands of South Africa in Mumbai.
Speaking to the media, In the game against South Africa, Matthew Mott believes that his team was unable to bowl according to their plans. Furthermore, he considers that the target set for them to chase was too high, resulting in their fourth defeat in the marquee event.
“It spiralled out of control, We were under siege for a while. Jos was looking around to see who was fit to bowl. the numbers around chasing were quite strong,” Matthew Mott said.
The intense heat and humidity of Mumbai took a toll on the worn-out English players, who periodically hobbled off the field owing to illness, aches, cramps, or exhaustion. However, Jos Buttler acknowledged that maybe he shouldn’t have chosen to bowl first, stating that the players were worn out in difficult conditions.
England Don’t Look Like A Side That Could Do That At The Moment – Michael Atherton
Michael Atherton, a former England cricketer, has expressed his concern over the England cricket team’s lack of confidence in the ongoing ODI World Cup. He has also questioned their approach to the game and believes that it will be extremely difficult for England to make it to the final four of the tournament.
“England look like a side that has no confidence, These three losses will hurt them. It happened in the last World Cup, but you felt it was a side that had confidence and they were playing a style and brand of cricket where they could bounce back. England need to now win seven games on the bounce to defend the World Cup, but they don’t look like a side that could do that at the moment,” Michael Atherton said.
England’s ODI World Cup campaign has been extremely poor, with them being outplayed in the opening game against New Zealand followed by an emphatic win over Bangladesh. In the most shocking defeat, the defending champions were outplayed by Afghanistan in their third match followed by their humiliating loss against the Proteas.
