Moeen Ali is taken at the boundary immediately after hitting a six (0:25)
Trevor Bayliss believes complacency among England’s batsmen cost them in their World Cup match against Sri Lanka.
Bayliss, the England coach, believes his side “just took it a little bit easy with the bat” when confronted by a relatively low total and a relatively lower-ranked opponent. England have so far only played one side (South Africa) in the top five of the world rankings and have been beaten by two (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) ranked between sixth and ninth. They play Australia (ranked five), India (ranked two) and New Zealand (ranked three) in their final three qualifying games knowing they may need to win two of those matches to progress.
But while Bayliss admitted the team missed the injured Jason Roy, he insisted there would be no risks taken with his recovery and he would not be rushed back for Tuesday’s game against Australia at Lord’s.
“What went wrong? Obviously our batting,” Bayliss said. “I thought our bowling was pretty good. It was superb.
“But with the bat we weren’t as busy as we normally are. Normally, on a wicket like this one, which wasn’t the easiest to play big shots on, we’re still busy and knocking singles around into the gaps. I don’t think we did that well enough.
“We didn’t build those partnerships. If we’d shown the same urgency at the start of the innings as we did at the end, we would have been in a better place.
“I think we just took it a little bit easy with the bat, to be honest. We thought if we just bat a bit of time we’ll put together a partnership. I think we forgot about the process we actually go through to put those partnerships together. That puts you under a bit of pressure towards the back end and that gave Sri Lanka confidence. They certainly bowled well. They hit their lengths and changed their pace.
“Of course you miss someone of Jason’s ilk. He’s injured and I’m not exactly sure when he’ll be back, but we’re looking forward to him coming back.
“We’re not going to risk him, that’s for sure. We’ll play each game as it comes and get the medical people to let us know whether they think he is right for the next game. If he’s not, well we’ll do the same heading into the next game.”
With Roy not expected back until the India game (at Edgbaston on June 30), at least, James Vince looks set to win another opportunity at the top of the order. He has looked in good touch every time he has batted for England this summer but has failed to pass 43 in six international innings. Bayliss remains hopeful, however, that one substantial score can kick-start a career that has, to date, promised more than it has delivered.
“It’s not as infuriating [for me] as it is for him,” Bayliss said. “He looks a million dollars, but then he finds a way to get out. Hopefully he’s one of those guys who can put one together and it tips him over the edge and he gets a string of big scores. He’s certainly a good player, but he’s looking to play a longer dig.”
WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – England’s wickets against Sri Lanka
Bayliss was also phlegmatic about Moeen Ali’s dismissal, caught on the long-off boundary at a time when England needed less than a run a ball to win the game.
“I think he’s obviously disappointed,” Bayliss said. “I’m no more disappointed than he is with that shot. It was not a great time to play that shot after hitting a six the ball before.
“But other times he goes out, hits it over the fence and we’d be yelling ‘great shot’. They’re always going to make a mistake if you’re trying things. They have a bit of a joke at times in the dressing room about hitting a single off the next ball and that being good cricket. Some of the guys have hit ‘six, six, six’ and that’s really good cricket.”
Despite the setback, Bayliss says the dressing room remains full of belief. And, he believes the quality of the teams which England have to play next will ensure “minds are on the job”.
“We know how good we are,” he said. “We didn’t play as well as we’d like in this game and maybe we let one slip, but we have been in this situation before and it hasn’t stopped us coming out and playing well in the next game.
“I think the three teams we’ve got coming up are good teams and we know what we’re going to get. We know what we can expect from those three good teams so I think our minds will be on the job.”
They will need to be. Australia will sense a chance to push England towards the brink of elimination on Tuesday and life will be no easier in the two matches to follow. While, from a global perspective, there may be some relief that the final group matches do not amount to a glut of dead games, England supporters – starved of World Cup success and knowing this is probably a one-off opportunity – may well have settled for just a little more predictability.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo