England have not been mathematically eliminated from the tournament – even defeat in Lucknow on Sunday would not officially knock them out – but they are unlikely to qualify for the semi-finals, even if they put together Be in incredible form and win all four of your matches. Remaining fixtures.
Morgan, who led them to the 2019 title, said watching England’s plight over the past three weeks had been “unsettling” and had taken a blow to their confidence. He also hinted at broader issues beyond the usual, saying, “I think there’s something else going on – there has to be.”
And Morgan even said that in the context of the widespread expectation that they would reach the semi-finals, England’s campaign has been the worst in the history of the game. “I’ve never seen a sports team that has performed as poorly as the England team, given the level of expectations that are shouldered by them,” he said on Sky Sports.
“There’s something within the team that’s definitely unstable. Given the methods they’ve been trying to use and the way they’ve lost games, it’s definitely called into question the morale within the changing room.” Goes. And confidence. It should be at an all-time low.”
Morgan said it was “an unacceptable excuse” to say that all the players were out of form at the same time. “I think there’s something else going on – there has to be,” he said. “When you look at the strengths in depth, especially with the bat, England are as good on paper as any other team in this tournament, but they have not performed well so far.
“They have made selection mistakes: they have really struggled to find a balanced and effective enough team to compete, let alone win this tournament. It has been incredibly challenging for Jose and his team … He has to regain the confidence in the method he has used for so long that has made him a double world champion.”
“The thing that’s surprised me most is that it’s so consistent across the board,” Trescothick said. “Except the Dharamshala game, where we played against Bangladesh, where one made a big score (David Malan’s 140) and we made a few other big scores around it, there was never any consistency in people scoring runs.
“I think they’re trying to understand it… It (his form) hasn’t gone away, it’s just hidden in a strange place at the moment. It hasn’t suddenly disappeared and he’ll never score runs again . They will bounce back from this and get back to form at some point. But unfortunately, it may be disappointing that it will be too late for this competition.”
Sunday’s match in Lucknow will be played on an old pitch, the same pitch that was used for South Africa’s win over Australia two weeks ago.
“The timing really couldn’t be worse,” Morgan said. “Given that India are still favorites to win this tournament on home soil, the challenge is now even greater than it might have been if you were playing on a new pitch.
“England just have to play what’s in front of them,” he said. “For most of this tournament, I believe they are taking other things for granted or looking outside the camp, contrary to their own performances. They have to stay in the present as long as possible tomorrow and India will have to be turned around.” ,
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98