James Taylor points to England's positives despite ODI defeat
Sunday 13 September 2015 17:46, UK
England's stand-in ODI captain James Taylor praised Australia for winning the Royal London series but also his team for the way they have performed all summer.
Taylor stepped in to captain the side after Eoin Morgan retired hurt after being hit on the helmet while batting at Old Trafford on Sunday.
England had already lost early wickets by then and could only reach 138 all out, with Morgan unable to return. Australia had little difficulty reaching 140-2 to win by eight wickets and claim the ODI series 3-2.
Afterwards Taylor said: "A lot of credit has to go to the way Australia bowled first up - they bowled really well and got those crucial early wickets.
"Obviously the way Morgie [Morgan] had to depart was unfortunate but I think that cost us and then we lost clumps of wickets, which you can't afford to do against the world champions."
Taylor said the wicket also played a part, adding: "It obviously nipped around and swung early but they bowled really well and it didn't quite spin as much as we probably thought it would."
The vice-captain nevertheless said there had been a lot of successes for England to point to throughout the summer, including the victorious Ashes series.
He said: "There's some exceptionally talented boys across England with bat and ball, we've put the world champions under a serious amount of pressure this series, unfortunately we couldn't quite take it on in this last game.
"It has been a brilliant summer. Both in Test cricket and in one-day cricket we've played some top-class cricket and it's really exciting to be part of it."
The Nottinghamshire batsman also looked forward to England's series of Test matches and ODIs against Pakistan which will be played in the UAE in October.
"We've got some brilliant players of spin," he said. "With the exciting brand of cricket we're playing, we'll be taking it on in the UAE."
England coach Trevor Bayliss added: "If you look at the whole summer it's been a fantastic six months for English cricket.
"You will always have days like today; I'm not entirely sure why and won't try and make up something.
"Going forward, the way we came back in this series is a really good sign."
