Cricket World Cup: England loss v Afghanistan 'would be horrendous'
- Published
Cricket World Cup: England v Afghanistan, Pool A |
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Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground. Date: Friday, 13 March. Time: 03:30 GMT |
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra. Live text commentary online, mobile and the BBC Sport app |
England cannot afford to suffer a "horrendous" defeat to Afghanistan in their final World Cup match, says assistant coach Paul Farbrace.
England were eliminated from the tournament on Monday after losing to Bangladesh - their fourth defeat.
They face Afghanistan, who are also out, in Sydney on Friday.
"If losing to Bangladesh was terrible, we couldn't possibly imagine what it will be like if [the last match] goes against us," Farbrace said.
England suffered embarrassment in a similar situation at last year's World Twenty20, when, having already been knocked out of the tournament, they lost their final group game to the Netherlands.
But Afghanistan have also lost four of their five matches so far, with their sole victory coming against Scotland.
As England prepare for their final game, Farbrace defended head coach Peter Moores.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and former batsman Geoffrey Boycott have both suggested Moores should go.
But Farbrace said: "He's not on his own, we're all in this together. Every member of the team has to share responsibility."
England have been accused of being too reliant on statistics during a World Cup campaign that has seen them beaten by Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
England's miserable World Cup |
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v Afghanistan, Sydney, 13 March |
But Farbrace, 47, insisted Sri Lanka had more team meetings and made more use of stats than England currently do.
"We had a team of six people during the World T20 who were providing us with data that we used to prepare and practice," he said. "Our preparation from fantastic statistics helped us win that final."
The former wicketkeeper conceded England have "not been good enough" and suggesting they had "not recovered" after being "blown away in the first two games" by co-hosts Australia and New Zealand.
"There's been a lot said about the nervousness and tension we're playing with and it's hard to argue against that," he added.
"We came here wanting to give it a go, saying we wanted to play exciting cricket and we haven't done that.
"We can have no complaints about the stick we've taken."
Farbrace said he had no regrets over leaving his job with Sri Lanka and that he is committed to working with England in a summer that will include a bid to regain the Ashes.
"The chance to work with my own national team was too good an opportunity," he said. "I'm looking forward to an exciting future with some exciting players."
England conclude their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Sydney on Friday without the injured Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.
If they fail to win, it will be the first time in any World Cup that they have not registered at least two victories.
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