England head coach Matthew Mott has conceded that England “are in a lot of trouble” despite their loss against Sri Lanka not mathematically discounting them from semi-final qualification.
In Bangalore, the defending champions fell to 156 wickets after deciding to bat first, but Sri Lanka outscored England by eight wickets. This was England’s third consecutive loss following the games against Afghanistan and South Africa, leaving them with only two points after five league games.
After Sri Lanka’s victory, Mott appeared before the media and explained why the tournament had gone so wrong for England. “I don’t know,” he said. “Then I spoke to Jos a little bit and it’s really hard to explain. I think it was a really good series against New Zealand. We were full of confidence, with world-class players who have won multiple World Cups. That’s why I came here. For some reason, it seems like some players have been out of form at the wrong times, and that’s hurting us a lot.
When asked whether the announcement earlier this week about which players would be given center contracts by the ECB played any role in distracting players, Mott said: . “I don’t think so. I think everyone who is a part of this world cup, following in his footsteps.” The focus was on the World Cup. As I said in the last meeting, that kind of thing doesn’t happen often at these world championships. Unfortunately, I saved my worst form for when I needed it most. It looks like it’s going to be very dark in the dressing room tonight.
“We came here full of hopes and expectations of making a difference, but our expectations were disappointed. Whether we get through the next few weeks and take something back from this campaign will depend on the truth. It will be a test of his character.”
p>England made three changes to their squad following the defeat against South Africa in Mumbai. One game was enforced after Reece Topley broke his finger during the match, but Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson were dropped in favor of Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali. England also made three changes to their eleven ahead of the match in Mumbai.
When asked if this change caused any confusion within the team, Mott said: I think we always reserve the right to select players depending on different circumstances. Last time I admitted that I probably got the balance a little wrong, so I put it back to the same balance as before.
“If we lose by this margin, I don’t think it’s because of some little decision here and there. This is a collective thing and we all need to take responsibility for our poor performance in this campaign. I think there is. Everyone will come out of the pile and analyze all the things we did wrong, but we definitely have to find some good points, and learn from that, And I think I can do that, I think I can improve everything I do, whether it’s my choices or how I prepare, and I’m careful not to let that go to waste, because it’s going to be a huge pain. ”
Mott also commented on how the team can recover quickly from the loss ahead of the next match against India on Sunday. When asked what he would say to the team, he said, “Probably not too much tonight.” “I don’t think we have much to gain tonight, but we’ll definitely catch up. We’ve been thinking for a long time about where we want to improve, but like I said, it’s going to be a very dark dressing room, but everyone there I feel like I’ve let down so many people in terms of my fans and friends, and my family and everyone in this room, my heart truly hurts.
“I think mathematically, a lot of things have to go our way (to get to the semi-finals). Like I said, we were in control from there, but , our net run rate hasn’t improved at all and we have to rely on others. Like I said, we’re going to continue to be on the front lines and look at each game individually and get back the really good ones at the end, but In reality, we are facing a big problem.”
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