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SPORTS NOVEMBER 03, 2023 | The Indian Eye 45

that he cannot point out a reason why formed in all three matches. We hav-
his side has had a disappointing tour- en’t underperformed this way before.
nament so far and admitted that he We know that we are not playing good
himself has been far from best in this cricket. But our team has bounced
tournament as a captain and player. back from this situation before and
England’s title defence sunk to a hopefully, we will come out of this sit-
new low as they registered their fourth uation,” the all-rounder said.
loss of the tournament to Sri Lanka
on Thursday at Bengaluru. Halfway “We are in a good space”: Pat
through the tournament, England has Cummins
won only one match and looks pretty
much out of the competition. ollowing Australia’s re-
“It has been an incredibly tough cord-breaking 309-run win
and incredibly disappointing tour- Fagainst the Netherlands in the
nament. Disappointed in myself and 24th match of the ODI World Cup
all the boys that we have not shown a 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New
good account of ourselves. There is no Delhi on Wednesday, Aussie skipper
clear answer at the moment [as to why Pat Cummins said that he is happy to
that’s the case]. Cannot really fault put 400 runs on the scoreboard and
the boys’ efforts but we are playing defend it well.
a long way short of our best. It starts While talking at the post-match
from the front, as Captain you want presentation, Cummins said that he
to lead from the front and play well and Maxwell both contributed equally
and I have been a long way short of to the 100-run partnership.
my best. [Confidence drained away?] He added that they were aiming
Not really to be honest, there are a lot to get wickets in the powerplay and
of experienced cricketers in the room, bowled quite well without a lot of luck.
who have been through a lot - confi- However, Cummins also stated
dent people. You don’t become a bad that he doesn’t think that they have
player overnight, you don’t become a nailed the 50 overs with the bat yet.
bad team overnight.” “Really happy, complete game.
“I think that’s probably the big- To put 400 on board and then de-
gest frustration, that we have been so fend well, couldn’t be happier. Crazy
far short of our best, and for no ob- innings. I think we both contributed
vious reason. Just can not put my fin- equally in that hundred partnership
ger on it at the moment. [uncertainty (chuckles). Those fantastic innings
over strategy?] Selection is something were the cleanest hitting I’ve seen. We
you want to be consistent, build that played the style we liked to. Please
trust. But selection is not a problem with Smithy getting runs. We were
at the moment, performance is. Who- Australia’s Pat Cummins celebrates the dismissal of Netherlands’ Bas De Leede during their aiming for powerplay wickets and
ever has been on the field so far has bowled quite well without a lot of
been short of the standards we set match in New Delhi on Wednesday (ANI) luck. Zamps with another four-fer.
ourselves. The kind of mistakes we They (New Zealand) are a really good
are all making, you do not see that ing World Cup has been below par. ing in good rhythm. They have done side. Big game in Dharamsala. It’s
usually. We have not been doing the During a pre-match press conference good bowling in patches. I am not the World Cup and we are in a good
basic things well. [What to cling to?] on Thursday ahead of Pakistan’s doing well, but the rest of the bowlers space, can’t wait to get there. (Areas
The biggest thing is personal pride, match against South Africa, Shad- are bowling really well in patches. I to improve) I don’t think we have to-
whatever happens in the rest of the ab stated that the Pakistan team will told you before the World Cup start- tally nailed the 50 overs with the bat
tournament we want to give a good strive to make a comeback in the ed that the team with the best bowling yet,” Cummins said.
account of ourselves going forward,” tournament after three consecutive form would be seen at the top. So, it is Coming to the match, Australia
he added. losses. being seen that way because in pitches opted to bat first and scored 399/8 in
With this loss, England has lost Shadab has only taken two wick- where there are more runs, you win just 50 overs. Maxwell (106) and David
its fourth match in five games and are ets in four games in the marquee event (through) the bowling.... We have to Warner (104 in 93 balls with 11 fours
at the second-last spot in the points and has been facing criticism from the work in all three fields [all three de- and three sixes) led the onslaught
table. Sri Lanka has its second win in fans and many former players. He has partments, batting, bowling and field- with their centuries. In the run-chase
five matches and with four points, are 74 runs scored in three innings with ing]. But I feel that the way our bowl- inning, Adam Zampa bagged four
now at fifth spot in the table. England the bat. ing lineup is, it has underperformed wickets and Mitchell Marsh scalped
is pretty much out of the tournament, “The criticism is valid because I a lot in the World Cup. As a bowling two wickets in their respective spells
especially with in-form teams like In- haven’t been performing well recent- unit, we will have to get up and win for to stop Netherlands at 90 runs to seal
dia, South Africa, New Zealand and ly. I’m not performing well in such a our team,” he said. a stellar win.
Australia having more games in hand. big tournament, but it’s not like I’m Pakistan, who were among the fa- Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazle-
always the same. There are always ups vourites before the start of the tourna- wood, and Pat Cummins took one
“I haven’t been performing and downs in cricket,” Shadab said in ment, have suffered three consecutive wicket each.

well”: Shadab Khan a pre-match press conference. defeats and the loss to India and Af- On the other hand, no Dutch bats-
He also admitted that Pakistan’s ghanistan has particularly rankled the man could score more than 25 runs.
akistan vice-captain Shadab bowlers have not come up to expec- fans. Pakistan now have a steep task Glenn Maxwell was named the
Khan has stated that his per- tations. ahead to make it to the semifinals. Player of the Match after his 106-run
Pformance during the ongo- “I think all our bowlers are bowl- Shadab said the team underper- knock from 44 balls.

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