"Don't think I've seen any great side implode quite like this" - Nasser Hussain on England's poor performance in 2023 World Cup
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has revealed that he has been left shocked by the national team's performance in the 2023 World Cup. Hussain believes that this is the result of England neglecting ODI cricket in the last few years and lamented four bad weeks.
Contrary to expectations, England have been well below their best, plummeting to six losses in seven games. Their latest defeat came to Australia as their batting line-up failed to produce the goods in pursuit of a steep 287. The 2019 World Cup champions were bowled out for 253, knocking them out of semi-final contention.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Hussain reacted to England's 'implosion' and said:
"I don’t think I’ve seen any great side implode quite like this one has here. But it’s not like 2015 when England were trying to put 20 bad years of limited-overs cricket behind them. This has been four bad weeks. If you stay at the same level – and there are reasons why England have done that, like the focus on Test cricket and lack of 50-over internationals – others will go past you. That’s what’s happened there."
The 55-year-old has called for a reset of England's ODI setup ahead of the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
"It is a last hurrah for some players and the end of a 50-over era but not the end for England as a white-ball force. They don’t have to tear it all up and start again. They just have to have a bit of a re-set."
Following the 33-run defeat to Australia, England captain Jos Buttler took responsibility for his team's displays, citing his poor returns with the bat.
"Not time for Mott and Buttler to go" - Nasser Hussain
Hussain also threw his weight behind under-fire coach Matthew Mott, stating that the decision-making was already poor. With the T20 World Cup also on the horizon, the cricketer-turned-commentator reckons some of the core players must be there.
"I didn’t hear a single person criticizing Mott as a coach and Buttler as a captain before this tournament. They have to take responsibility for this, just as the players do, and along with Key look at their decision making because it has been very poor throughout. Take the confusion over Jason Roy’s role before the World Cup and Archer as a possible replacement during it as examples.
"All of them need to learn from their mistakes – but it’s not time for Mott and Buttler to go. There’s a T20 World Cup in June and I would keep a core of experienced players and introduce young talent around them."
England's final two league games are against the Netherlands and Pakistan respectively.