Well, that was embarrassingly awful

Well, that was embarrassingly awful

Coming from England, every couple years I find myself in the awkward situation of trying to explain away woeful performances by our national team in either the football or the cricket World Cup.

This time around it’s the cricket and I suspect “woeful” is not a strong enough word for their performances. “Shambolic” is perhaps more accurate. 

Respected former cricketers have lashed the team and its organisation in no uncertain manner following their defeat by an inspired Bangladesh which sent them crashing out of the World Cup, having lost four of their first five matches.

“A national embarrassment,” was the verdict of former England all-rounder, Ian Botham, and few would argue with him. “Pathetic” was how Geoffrey Boycott saw it. “The lowest ebb” was David Lloyd’s sad assessment.

In fact a readers’ poll by the Daily Mirror asking “Is this the lowest point in England’s cricket history?” prompted an emphatic 86 percent “Yes” response.

Another former England player, Mike Selvey, writing in The Guardian called the Bangladesh defeat it “One of the most dismal days in reporting 30 years of England cricket.” 

The Japanese Cricket Association even chimed in rather naughtily with a cheeky tweet to the England management which read “Fancy a game in Japan on your way home?” We might at least scrape a win there, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

The Australian press could not resist wallowing in England’s misery. The Sydney Daily Telegraph rubbed it in with: “Cheerio chaps: Poms are bangers and mashed”.

In the UK itself, newspaper headlines didn’t pull any punches either. “Disaster” screamed the Daily Mirror, “Utter humiliation’’ was how the Daily Telegraph saw it. The Daily Express came up with its own  solution, “Scrap the lot!”

If only it was that simple.

Naturally England coach Peter Moores came under withering fire, with most, but not all, newspapers calling for his dismissal, along with director of cricket, Paul Downton, the former Middlesex wicketkeeper.

Moores is a decent man and a respected coach and there is no question about his commitment. But his reaction to the Bangladesh defeat said a lot about what might be wrong.

He said he would “look at the data” for an explanation. But it had nothing to do with data, for goodness sake. It was a game between two teams of 11 and the best team won. England were simply not good enough.

Moores’ obsession with data and statistics upset several former England captains. “The bloody data…I’m off for a pint!” tweeted Michael Vaughan.

Botham was of a similar view. “I’m bored senseless by this team and the way it’s run,” said the great all-rounder. Echoing his views was the Australian spinner, Shane Warne: “England had the wrong team and the wrong style of play,” he said.

The players owe the coach a big apology. They simply did not perform. But they have totally lost confidence and look mentally shattered.

If Moores is hoping for some comfort in the statistics, he won’t find it. He only has to look at those defeats by New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The Kiwis overcame England’s miserable score of 123 with a massive 226 balls to spare. The only time England posted a decent score, 309-6 against Sri Lanka, their opponents overhauled it with ease, losing just one wicket.

To be fair, there had been no great expectations of the team before the tournament, but it was at least hoped that they would scramble through the group stage.

Over the years, England have made the batting collapse something of an art form, which was in evidence once again in this tournament. They are also used to their captain going down with the sinking ship, and that was the case with hapless skipper Eoin Morgan so woefully out of form.

We must not overlook the efforts of the Bangladesh team which played with obvious pride and passion, something noticeably lacking in their English opponents. It was a famous and well-deserved victory for Mashrafe Mortaza’s team.

There will almost certainly be strong calls to reinstate “bad boy’” Kevin Pietersen, England’s most successful batsmen in the past decade. KP’s observation on the England disaster was a brief tweet: “I can’t believe this!”

As always, one problem with the Cricket World Cup is that it seems to go on forever and it will be another fortnight before the final is played.

We are still not much the wiser as to who will be in the final  and things will only become clearer once the quarter-finals get started next Wednesday. It doesn’t matter how good a team looks in the group matches, the real test is how they perform in the knockout stages. All it needs is one bad game  and a favoured team could well be out.

New Zealand have been hugely impressive as have India. Australia are also looking quite formidable and South Africa, while not at their best, have the potential to go all the way.  These four may well be in the semi-finals, although you can’t rule out Sri Lanka.

Something New Zealand, South Africa and Australia all have in common is an explosive batsman who can turn  a match in just a few overs. When Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell get going, no spectator is safe. England have no one even remotely like that.

And we must not forget the sublime performance of Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara with four World Cup centuries on the trot. Absolutely magnificent.

Meanwhile, England are flying home — and I suspect they will politely turn down the Japan invitation.

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