England were skittled for just 170 by South Africa during 229-run defeat - "The quality of performance was not good enough, but get your decision-making right. England need to win seven games on the bounce to defend the World Cup, but they don't look like they can do that at the moment"
Sunday 22 October 2023 23:45, UK
England made poor a decision with the toss and with their squad changes against an in-form South Africa which proved to be costly as the defending champions fell to a record 229-run defeat on Saturday.
England captain Jos Buttler brought in Ben Stokes, David Willey and Gus Atkinson in place of Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, and decided to field in the sweltering heat after winning the toss in Mumbai.
England's reliance on statistics instead of reading the conditions of the pitch on the day led to their defeat, said Sky Sports' pundit and former England captain Nasser Hussain.
South Africa Reeza Hendricks (85) and Marco Jansen (75no) caused carnage whilst Heinrich Klaasen (109) put on a spectacular performance to post 399-7, the highest total against England in ODI cricket.
"England keep getting their decisions wrong," said Hussain.
"We got the toss and the balance of the side wrong. The three changes in the squad moved England completely away from how they have been playing for years.
"Woakes had had no rhythm and on a flat pitch you leave him out and bring Stokes in, I agree with that decision. What I don't like is the toss decision and reliance on stats.
"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.
"I think Jos [Buttler] didn't have a great day either because so many of them were struggling. Willey was going down with cramps, Stokes was struggling, Brook and Topley were getting treatment, Rashid was feeling sick. It was a nightmare, he didn't know who to turn to.
"England need to get the decisions they're making off the field right. The quality of performance was not good enough, but get your decision making right off the field.
"I hear a lot about statistics, and Eoin Morgan used statistics, but there was a lot of gut feeling there too. You need to get your decisions right, don't just go to your default settings."
The defending champions collapsed to 68-6 within 12 overs after their top order batters - Bairstow (10), Root (two), Malan (six) and Stokes (five) - fell cheaply at the hands of South Africa's impressive bowlers.
"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.
"If they want to win every game from now, they need to get their decision-making right. Just look at what happened to Willey today.
"No matter how much practice you've had in the nets, or how many laps you've done off the ground, playing in this heat and humidity, you need to have proper match overs in your legs, otherwise you'll cramp up.
"These are super fit England cricketers and within 40 minutes you could tell how much they were struggling.
"South Africa really soaked up the pressure and England were dead on their legs. That's when they pounced and were playing really smart cricket. They did it against Australia and Sri Lanka, and now they smashed England.
"I still think England could do it, but they have to get their decision-making right."
The defeat saw England drop down to ninth place on the table, whilst South Africa climbed up to third position. The top four teams will qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.
England's run of must-win games at the Cricket World Cup begins against Sri Lanka on Thursday in Bangalore which you can watch live from 9am on Sky Sports Cricket (first ball 9.30am).
Watch every game from the Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports between now and the final on Sunday November 19 - or stream without a contract through NOW.
