Table of Contents
England’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign has been nothing short of tragic, marked by a string of disappointing performances. The defending champions now languish at the second spot from the bottom of the points table, a position no one expected them to be in. It’s been a challenging and disheartening campaign for England cricket team, and they will be eager to put it behind them.
Below par performance
The Jos Buttler-led side’s journey began on a sad note as they suffered a defeat in the World Cup opener against New Zealand. As the tournament progressed, their struggles continued, with four losses in five matches, leaving fans disheartened. The only glimmer of hope came as a solitary victory against Bangladesh. However, their most recent match against Sri Lanka added to their woes, ending in an eight-wicket loss. The defeat considerably impacted the English side’s prospects of securing a spot in the playoff rounds, significantly diminishing their chances.
Matthew Mott, the former Australian first-class cricketer, now at the helm as the head coach of England’s white-ball cricket team, has recently broken his silence on the team’s dismal performance in the ongoing World Cup.
Matthew Mott’s despairing opinion
Mott conceded that their World Cup campaign’s prospects appear slim. He mentioned that their net run rate and the competitive nature of the tournament make it unlikely for them to progress to the next round. As a result, he emphasized that the team must now shift its focus towards playing for pride in the remaining matches.
“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,” Mott said while speaking to BBC.
Also READ: World Cup 2023 – Aakash Chopra delivers sharp critique on England’s woeful campaign
Mott further mentioned the team’s collective disappointment, acknowledging they felt they’d let down their fans, families, and supporters. He emphasized that in professional sports, a team is ultimately judged by its ability to put its best performance forward, and this is where they’ve fallen short in its World Cup campaign.
“We’ve got a lot to do there, we feel like we’ve let our fans down, our families and supporters and everyone in that dressing room. We haven’t put our best foot forward and in professional sport that’s what you’re judged on,” the 50-year-old added.
