Following England's disappointing 8-wicket loss to Sri Lanka at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, their hopes of defending their title in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 appear to be fading. With their campaign on shaky ground, the English team are now aiming to win all their remaining matches, but even that may not secure them a spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup 2023.
In an interview with the BBC, England's head coach, Matthew Mott, was candid and realistic about their chances of making it to the top four, saying,"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."
In a low-scoring match, England were bowled out for a mere 153 by Sri Lanka, marking their fifth consecutive defeat against them in World Cups. Matthew Mott acknowledged that the team hasn’t performed up to their potential in the tournament.
‘We Haven’t Put Our Best Foot Forward’: Matthew Mott
"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,” said Matthew Mott.
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Mott is hoping to find something positive in a tournament that has been challenging for the defending champions: "We have to use this in a really positive way, I've been part of teams that have won and part of teams that have lost. But when you lose like this, it has to sting and has to hurt, but something good has to come out of it."
He also admitted that this was a missed opportunity for the team after their victory in the T20 World Cup last year: "For us, every time you play a World Cup you know it could be your last ... they don't come along very often. In the last 12 to 18 months we've done well in the T20 World Cup and we've bombed out here.”
In a low-scoring match, Sri Lanka convincingly defeated England, chasing down the target in less than 25 overs, securing their second consecutive win in the tournament. Nissanka, with his fourth consecutive fifty, and Samarawickrama, with his second consecutive fifty, led Sri Lanka to a morale-boosting victory.
England's next challenge will be against the tournament hosts, India, who are the only undefeated team, having won all five of their matches. The match between India and England will take place at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29.