{"id":294397,"date":"2023-10-20T17:24:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=294397"},"modified":"2023-10-20T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T17:24:08","slug":"england-know-they-cant-afford-a-potentially-terminal-odi-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/%d1%81ricket\/england-know-they-cant-afford-a-potentially-terminal-odi-defeat\/","title":{"rendered":"England know they can't afford a potentially terminal ODI defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"
England go into Saturday\u2019s clash with South Africa saying all the right things about unleashing the monster within. They also know that defeat will leave them sipping chai latte martinis in the last-chance saloon.<\/p>\n
With almost a month to go before the World Cup final, it wasn\u2019t meant to be like this when they set about aiming for a third global white-ball trophy in four years.<\/p>\n
England simply cannot afford a third defeat now, not with India, Australia and Pakistan still to come. With that in mind, Jos Buttler became the latest senior figure in the camp to stress the importance of reconnecting with the old ways.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s about reinforcing that message – that we don\u2019t go away from the style we want to play, just because we haven\u2019t had the results we wanted,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018We know it\u2019s served us well over a long period of time. If you\u2019re going to lose, I\u2019d rather lose in that style – I\u2019d rather we go down on our sword and continue to take the game on.\u2019<\/p>\n
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England captain Jos Buttler knows England cannot afford a third ODI World Cup defeat<\/p>\n
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The sight of England\u2019s batsmen spending the best part of two training sessions trying to hit the ball out of Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede Stadium has certainly reflected the collective mood<\/p>\n
The sight of England\u2019s batsmen spending the best part of two training sessions trying to hit the ball out of Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede Stadium has certainly reflected the collective mood.<\/p>\n
The return of Ben Stokes from a hip injury, meanwhile, is the timeliest of fillips at a venue where true pitches tend to reward the cleaner hitters.<\/p>\n
But South Africa have a few of those too, having begun the tournament with World Cup-record 428 for five against Sri Lanka in Delhi, where Aiden Markram battered a century in 49 balls – another tournament record.<\/p>\n
Quinton de Kock has scored two hundreds – including one in the win over Australia – with Rassie van der Dussen adding another. Dramatically rebalancing the ledger was South Africa\u2019s defeat by the Netherlands in Dharamshala on Tuesday, giving critics the chance to rehang the \u2018chokers\u2019 tag around their necks.<\/p>\n
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Ben\u00a0Stokes’ return means Sam Curran is likely to miss out against South Africa<\/p>\n
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Against South Africa on Saturday,\u00a0this will be a day when England have to match word with deed<\/p>\n
But they will have listened with interest to England\u2019s repeated backing of their attack leader Chris Woakes, who has two wickets at 67 in this tournament and an economy-rate of 7.5. If they play him again now, it will be no better than a calculated risk.<\/p>\n
With Stokes returning, Sam Curran is likely to miss out, having averaged 11 with the bat and 70 with the ball. Partly because of his absence, and partly because of the Wankhede\u2019s lively surface, England will also consider strengthening their seam department, bringing David Willey into the equation.<\/p>\n
Above all, though, this will be a day when England have to match word with deed.<\/p>\n
If losing one game might be considered a misfortune, and two looks like carelessness, three could be terminal. We may be about to find out what Buttler\u2019s England are made of.<\/p>\n