Former England skipper Nasser Hussain said the Eoin Morgan-led side are now starting to realize the difference between bilateral series and marquee events such as 2019 World Cup after their consecutive defeats at the hands of Sri Lanka and Australia respectively.
England suffered their third defeat of the tournament against Australia at Lord’s on Tuesday (June 26). With just two more games remaining, that too against in-form India and New Zealand, England are still unsure about their chances of making it to the semifinals.
“England are also finding out the difference between bi-lateral series and tournament play,” wrote Hussain in his column for Daily Mail.
“You face different sides with different strengths, going from the spin and unorthodox action of Lasith Malinga against Sri Lanka to the pace and swing of Australia in successive matches. And they haven’t coped with either.”
Hussain also criticized Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for the way they went about their business on a surface that was providing enough movement to the fast bowlers. The trio kept bowling short and allowed Aaron Finch and David Warner to settle in at the start.
“Yes, England went past the edge a few times after winning the toss in perfect bowling conditions but the reason for that was they were bowling short of a good length. How many of those balls would have hit the stumps? Not nearly enough.
“England are not out of the World Cup yet but this leaves them very vulnerable.
