England have 'overthought the conditions' at the World Cup in India

Posted on : 10/24/2023
England have 'overthought the conditions' at the World Cup in India
Сricket 

England have ‘overthought the conditions’ at the World Cup in India, says ECB managing director Rob Key as he admits they ‘haven’t made the best decisions’ during awful start

  • Holders England have lost three of their opening four World Cup matches 
  • They now need to win all five remaining group matches to stand any chance
  • Jos Buttler’s decision have not paid off and England now need a minor miracle

Rob Key believes England have ‘overthought’ their tactics during a disastrous start to their World Cup defence in India.

After defeat by New Zealand and victory over Bangladesh, Jos Buttler chose to bowl first against both Afghanistan in Delhi and South Africa in Mumbai, losing badly twice. 

They now need to win all five remaining group matches to stand any chance of reaching the semi-finals, starting with Sri Lanka in Bangalore on Thursday.

‘We haven’t always made the best decisions, and I count myself at the top of the list,’ said Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket.

‘We’ve probably overthought conditions a bit. We’ve focused at times on whether the dew is going to come down, whether it’s going to be a turner, whether it’s a 230 pitch or a 350 pitch, stuff like that. They’re the things we haven’t got right.

Rob Key believes England have ‘overthought’ their tactics during a disastrous start in India

The holders have suffered defeat in three of their opening four matches at the World Cup 

‘This is a unique place to come and play. It’s bloody tricky to work out the best thing to do. But regardless of any decisions, you need your players at their very best in this competition, and we haven’t had that.’

Meanwhile, after the ECB introduced multi-year central contracts for the first time, Key admitted that the best deals would be made available to multi-format players after white-ball specialist David Willey was the only member of the World Cup squad to miss out. 

‘It’s fair to say David Willey wasn’t best pleased,’ he said. ‘It’s tough, to be honest. Where we thought we were going to have Test cricketers and white-ball cricketers, we’re going into a time where we’ve got more multi-format cricketers than not.’


Jos Buttler’s decisions so far have not paid off and England now need a minor miracle 

Key played down the significance of Ben Stokes’s decision to turn down a three-year contract in favour of a one-year deal, saying he expected England’s Test captain to sign a longer contract in 2024, when Stokes believes there will be more money on offer following the ECB’s latest broadcast deal.

‘Absolutely,’ said Key. ‘As long as he feels the deal is right for him, and he’s getting what he’s worth. The older you get, the more you might fancy that.’

Sri Lanka have called up the experienced Angelo Mathews to their World Cup squad as an injury replacement for fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana, though it’s unclear whether Mathews will be ready for the game against England.

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