England 'didn't produce' against Afghanistan, says Eoin Morgan
Thursday 24 March 2016 10:25, UK
Captain Eoin Morgan says England must improve if they are to reach the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals after an unconvincing 15-run win over Afghanistan.
England slipped to 57-6 and then 85-7 in Delhi before Moeen Ali (41no) and David Willey (20no) lifted the target to 143.
Afghanistan finished on 127-9 so Morgan's men remain in contention for a last-four place, but will need to lift their game against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
"The execution of plans was off by a long way here," said Morgan, who was bowled first ball shouldering arms.
"If Afghanistan are going to beat us we need to under-perform and we let them in by under-performing with the bat, but I thought our bowling and fielding was very good.
"It's very important between now and Sri Lanka that we sit down as a group and emphasise what we're trying to do, make sure we have the right plans and reinforce them.
"This was the wicket every single one of us was expecting.
"It was simply a matter of not adapting. We've been practising similar things that we needed here but just didn't produce."
Morgan might easily have been reflecting on another upset to rank alongside defeats by Holland, twice, and Ireland in ICC tournaments.
That he was instead picking the bones from a narrow escape was largely down to Moeen and Willey, who plundered 57 runs in 5.3 overs to swing the momentum of the match.
The pair also played their role with the ball, taking three of the first four Afghanistan wickets, and were well due a word of praise from their skipper.
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"To get us up to 142 Ali and Willey played really well. It was a really important stand," said Morgan, who made a golden duck in the early malaise.
"The difference between chasing 120 and 140 is huge, and one of our strengths is that we bat right down the order. Where the rest of our batsmen struggled those two guys showed a great deal of application."
Watch England take on Sri Lanka from 2pm this Saturday on Sky Sports 2.
