By Saurabh Sharma
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) – England’s World Cup title defence may be in tatters after four defeats in five matches but assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said on Saturday their sagging fortunes won’t stop them from relishing their blockbuster clash with hosts India.
England won the title on home soil in 2019 and came into the showpiece as favourites after also capturing the Twenty20 World Cup last year, but defeats by New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka have left them on the brink of elimination.
Trescothick said England must look at the game against India in Lucknow on Sunday as an opportunity for the players to regain confidence and the batting unit, in particular, to show their best form.
“Playing against India in a World Cup in their own country is a special part of the game. You get these opportunities that come around – you know there’ll be a big crowd, there’ll be a wonderful occasion,” Trescothick told reporters.
“We’re looking forward to that chance. There’s nothing more we can offer apart from going out and playing that performance. And then hopefully you come out on top at the end of it.”
Jos Buttler’s side must win their remaining four matches and have other results go their way to reach the knockout stages but Trescothick said they were not dwelling too much on that.
“We’re more focused on getting our performance right and getting better levels of performance than what we’ve shown in the last few weeks,” Trescothick said.
“We know it’ll be very challenging. Mathematically, it’s still possible. But it’s very tough.”
Trescothick said England had not lost faith in the 50-overs format having lifted the title at the last World Cup.
“We love playing any form of cricket,” he added.
“And we were desperate to come here and try and win back-to-back 50-overs competitions. We’re still very much focused on all formats of the game.”
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow; Writing by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
