Thursday 15 June 2017 07:09, UK
Michael Atherton believes England failed to give a true account of themselves and 'fluffed their lines' in their ICC Champions Trophy semi-final defeat to Pakistan.
England's batsmen - who have dazzled in the two years following the 2015 World Cup, scoring over 300 a world-leading 23 times - were bowled out for just 211 in the face of some quality seam bowling in Cardiff.
Pakistan then knocked off the runs with some comfort, cruising to an eight-wicket win in 37.1 overs to knock England out and confirm their place in Sunday's final at The Oval.
"What will frustrate England the most is that on the big stage, in the big game, we've not really seen then give a true account of themselves," Atherton told Sky Sports. "That was down to a combination of things, but England definitely fluffed their lines.
"There were huge expectations they'd go on to win the tournament, I think justifiably so on the back of what they've done over the last year and a half.
"What we've seen is pretty meek and timid performance today. England have been anything but since the World Cup - they've played some fantastic one-day cricket, it has been a privilege to watch it.
"As a result, the bar was set very high for this tournament, and they've failed to deliver - that's the brutal truth of sport.
"They had the chance to show this new breed of English one-day cricket on a knockout stage but just didn't show their true form today. It's a shame for them, but that's the way it goes in these major tournaments.
"At the same time, Pakistan's bowling, I thought, was exceptional. There was some tremendous skill on show from their seamers, in particular."
Hasan Ali was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, taking 3-35, while left-armer Junaid Khan (2-42) and Rumman Raees (2-44), on debut, also did their bit.
In the face of such quality seam bowling, Atherton believes England could have attacked the spinners more - their combined 22 overs costing 89 runs for the loss of one wicket - especially with such short straight boundaries at the Swalec Stadium.
"You've got to be bold and flexible in your approach, and England were neither really today," added Atherton. "They will look back and think, could we have transferred a bit of pressure back on to Pakistan during Mohammad Hafeez's overs in particular?
"Shadab Khan has that bit of mystery - he can spin it both ways, and we've seen traditionally in this type of cricket, legspinners can do well - but on this ground, Hafeez, who is an orthodox offspinner, could have been targeted.
"The seamers for Pakistan bowled superbly, you couldn't really argue that.
"The game was ultimately won by Pakistan with the ball, and lost by England with the bat. It has been England's strength of late, but they just had a bad day."
