Bengaluru: England’shopesof retaining theirWorldCupcrown are over and they will be playing for prideinthe rest of the tournament,coachMatthewMottsaid after Thursday’s humbling eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka left the holders ninthinthe standings.
Englandare staring at a group stage exit after they were bowled out for 156inthe first inningsina low-scoring contest, falling to their fourth defeatinfive matches.
The only team below them is the Netherlands, the sole non-test playing nation at the 10-teamWorldCup.
AlthoughEnglandare still mathematicallyinthe running, with skipper Jos Buttler saying they “need a few miracles” to win their remaining games, their chances of finishinginthe top four are slim andMottsaid they were resigned to their fate.
“It’s over now, I think. I’m not a mathematician, but with our net rate and too many teams who are going to take games off each other, we have to come to terms with that from now we’re playing for a lot of pride,”Motttold the BBC.
“We’ve got a lot to do there, we feel like we’ve let our fans down, our families and supporters and everyoneinthat dressing room. We haven’t put our best foot forward andinprofessional sport that’s what you’re judgedon.
“We have to use thisina really positive way, I’ve been part of teams that have won and part of teams that have lost. But when you lose like this,ithas to sting and has to hurt, but something good has to come out ofit.”
Mottdid not want to say ifitwas the end of an era for their ODI team but he admitteditwas a missed opportunity after winning the T20WorldCuplast year.
“For us, every time you play aWorldCupyou knowitcould be your last … they don’t come along very often,”Mottadded.
“Inthe last 12 to 18 months we’ve done wellinthe T20WorldCupand we’ve bombed out here. We need to get better.
“A T20WorldCupis the next thingonthe agenda (inJune 2024), from an ICC events point of view. We need to make sure we do our best preparation andhopefullywe putina much better performance.”
(Published 27 October 2023, 02:13 IST)