London: England captain Eoin Morgan insists his team will rebound with "aggressive and smart" cricket against Australia, having been humbled by Sri Lanka's golden oldies in a World Cup boilover.
Chasing a modest 233 for victory against a struggling Sri Lankan side that has complained about everything from the team bus, to hotels and pitches, England were torpedoed for 212 in 47 overs at Headingley, having failed to adapt to the tougher batting conditions. On what was the longest day of the year, it clearly was the darkest for the host nation.
The manner in which they went about their run chase – too many injudicious shots – sparked criticism for Ben Stokes (82 not out), who played one of his best hands, and Joe Root (57 off 89 balls) were the only batsmen to get going. When the latter fell leaving England on 4-127 in the 31st over, the upset was on.
The Times of London roared that England had been "destroyed by brainless batting and wily Malinga", The Sun said the defeat was a "disaster" and "Englands cruise to the World Cup semi-finals has suddenly hit a very rocky road and potential disaster", while The Daily Telegraph's veteran cricket correspondent Scyld Berry said the loss "raised many questions about their collective big-match temperament".
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This was England's second defeat of the tournament, having also lost to Pakistan in a failed run chase, and the pressure has intensified heading into a marquee clash against top-of-the-table Australia at Lord's on Tuesday.
Morgan, who was unable to reproduce the type of bruising knock which he had flattened Afghanistan with, said there was no reason to "read the riot act".
Sri Lanka celebrate after Lasith Malinga dismissed England's Jonny Bairstow.Credit:AP
"The guys are extremely disappointed. It is a matter of learning and taking it into Tuesday. I dont tend to read the riot act. It is important we learn from this," he said.
"I think when we get beaten we tend come back quite strong. We tend to resort to being aggressive, smart, positive cricket, so let's hope that is the case on Tuesday."
Opener Jonny Bairstow (0) was out for the second time for a golden duck this tournament and Jos Buttler (10 off nine balls) also failed to deliver on a day which was felt across the cricketing world.
James Vince, filling in for the injured Jason Roy, and Moeen Ali were guilty of poor shots.
England's captain Eoin Morgan avoids a rising delivery from Malinga.Credit:AP
The loss leaves England in third spot on the table (eight points) but they have three of their most difficult group games – against Australia, India and New Zealand – to come.
By comparison, former Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews, 32, provided an unbeaten 85 to be the backbone of his nation's innings, before super-slinger Lasith Malinga, 35, went retro and claimed 4-43, extracting four of the top six batsmen.
In a week when debate about a lack of upsets and enthralling contests througRead More – Source
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