Pat Cummins enjoyed a cheeky chuckle when he was probed about England’s plight in the World Cup.
“Yeah, it’s sad to see... I don’t have much (to say),” the Australian captain quipped during a news conference the other day.
England’s dream of World Cup defence is all but over as they sit last on the 10-team table. From Eoin Morgan’s fearless brand of cricket, this team is now churning out a slew of disgraceful and timid performances, unbecoming of a champion side.
The batting collapses have lost their rarity and the way they crumbled against Sri Lanka, losing their last seven wickets for 79 runs, is almost inexplicable.
Captain Jos Buttler has appealed to the players to take personal responsibility. The batting has been in a shambles and assistant coach Marcus Trescothick was at pains to provide an explanation.
Buttler has looked burdened with captaincy and it has reflected in his batting and decision-making — the captain averages just 19 with the bat.
“I think sitting on the sidelines, seeing the performances haven’t been quite right. We’ve just not been matching up to the levels we expect. It’s disappointing, of course it is. We’re all feeling it. We’re all feeling the heat and stuff. But what can you do?” a dejected Trescothick said on Saturday.
“We prepared the same, we’ve done things very similar to what you’d expect. Every practice we go through we’re coming out the other side thinking we’re in a good place and feeling quite right. It’s just not quite worked.”
Perhaps it needs some serious introspection rather than finding other means to use as a scapegoat.
