England’s hopes of retaining their World Cup crown are over and it will be playing for pride in the rest of the tournament, coach Matthew Mott said after a humbling eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka left the holders ninth in the standings.
England is staring at a group stage exit after it was bowled out for 156 in a low-scoring contest, falling to their fourth defeat in five matches.
The only team below England is the Netherlands, the sole non-Test playing nation at the 10-team World Cup.
Although England is still mathematically in the running, with skipper Jos Buttler saying it “needs a few miracles” to win its remaining games, its chances of finishing in the top four are slim and Mott said the team was resigned to its fate.
“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 told the BBC.
“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.
“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.”
Chasing a modest 157 for only their second win, Sri Lanka overcame the loss of two early wickets before Pathum Nissanka (77 not out) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65 not out) got it across the finish line in 25.4 overs.
Sri Lanka earlier restricted England to a below-par 156 all out in 33.2 overs in the must-win clash between the tournament’s stragglers, with only Ben Stokes offering some resistance in an otherwise dismal batting display.
Stokes (43) took the attack to Sri Lanka on a dry wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after England’s middle-order collapsed in the face of some incisive bowling, but he holed out to Dushan Hemantha in the deep off Lahiru Kumara (3-35) in the 31st over.
The low point of England’s day came with the run out of Adil Rashid, who was caught lazily out of his crease in scenes reminiscent of Jonny Bairstow’s infamous Ashes stumping.
Rashid was at the non-striker’s end when Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis claimed a wide delivery down the leg side, before swiftly removing his glove and throwing down the stumps at the other end.
Rashid, barely paying attention, reacted too late and was found to be short of his crease.
“That is dopey from Adil Rashid, and absolutely brilliant from Sri Lanka’s captain [Mendis],” former England player Ian Ward said in the commentary box.
Buttler said he was surprised the 2019 champions found have found themselves in this position.
“We’re a really good team, done a lot of good things in the recent past in white-ball cricket and 50-over cricket,” Buttler said.
“We get on the plane with high hopes and a lot of confidence and belief that we can challenge for the title.
“So, to be sat here is a shock to everyone. I’ll walk back in the dressing room after this and look at the players sat there and think how we found ourselves in this position with the talent and the skill that’s in the room.
“But it’s the position we’re in, it’s the reality of what’s happened over the last three weeks and that’s a huge low point.”
ABC/Reuters
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