World Cup: England 'toothless' in nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka
'It’s time for some real, honest talking from the England captain...'
Friday 6 March 2015 09:21, UK
‘Toothless’ England must reassess their one-day approach after a nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in Wellington, says Nasser Hussain.
Eoin Morgan’s men suffered their third defeat in four World Cup games as Sri Lanka cruised to their 310 target off just 47.2 overs as Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara scored unbeaten hundreds.
England, who must win their final two group games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the next fortnight to stay in the competition, took just one wicket – that of Tillakaratne Dilshan (44) – and former skipper Hussain told Sky Sports World Cup that the bowlers looked ineffectual.
“There have probably been times when England have bowled worse but I can’t remember a time when an England bowling attack – or any bowling attack – has looked so toothless,” he reflected.
“A captain has always got to believe that he can do something but Eoin Morgan must have been stood there thinking ‘where am I going to get a wicket from?’
“’The ball’s not moving, it’s not swinging, it’s not seaming – we’re banging it in halfway down; I’m setting fields for one thing, they’re doing something completely different’.
“When you chase 300 sometimes you have to fight little battles but that was just a walk in the park for Sri Lanka. England did nothing with the ball – it was all samey, right-arm over the wicket, medium quick, halfway down, help yourself.”
England made a strong start as Ian Bell and Moeen Ali put on 62 for the first wicket in 9.1 overs but thereafter lost their way despite Joe Root’s century, which made him the youngest Englishman to score a World Cup hundred.
Although they added 148 runs in the final 15 overs, Hussain said England paid dearly for a loss of momentum after the first batting powerplay.
“It’s time for some real, honest talking from the England captain – firstly to the selectors, because the Gary Ballance experiment has failed. It’s not working – he’s out of nick, he’s batting out of position,” he said.
“You win World Cups with world-class number threes. Sri Lanka sent one in to keep the momentum going. We immediately lost momentum. Jos Buttler is not in the side for his wicket-keeping – he is not yet the finished article.
“He’s there for his batting; he got a hundred against Sri Lanka at Lord’s – one of the best hundreds I’ve ever seen, but he’s coming in for the last five overs – that’s not good enough. He’s got to come in and change the course of the game – not just face 19 deliveries at the end.
“Morgan has also got to be honest to his bowlers and his bowling coach; the plan to bang it in halfway down isn’t working. If you get to a quarter-final against India, you’ll get blown away.
“He’s got to speak to Jimmy Anderson; the ball isn’t swinging – why not? It’s time to be really honest in the dressing room otherwise this World Cup is going away from England.
England now have eight days to mull over their defeat before they face lower-ranked Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval on March 9 and Afghanistan at the SCG on March 13.
Hussain says that before then, England must consider changing the culture within the squad.
“The only way England can avoid making changes is that if they believe that conditions are going to drastically change so much that they become English-type conditions where you are going to need a Test match number three and 50 overs becomes a long time,” he said.
“I don’t see that. They are going to Adelaide on a drop-in pitch which will be really flat; they are going to Sydney, where you can score a lot of runs. If, then, they get through they are going to have South Africa or India at the MCG, which has already produced 300-330.
“What England have done so far in conditions like this has failed, so they are going to have to change for the conditions.
“England have now got to win five games in a row to win the World Cup so they have to change it. I’ve said all along that culture is more important than strategy.
“They need to change the culture of the team before the next game; if they continue doing what they’ve always done they’ll get the same result.”
Watch highlights of England's defeat to Sri Lanka at 12pm on Sky Sports World Cup, then tune in for The Verdict at 1pm on the same channel.
