Cricket World Cup 2023: Joe Root says England's players need to play more 50-over cricket
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South Africa hand England their heaviest ODI defeat
England need to play more domestic and international 50-over cricket to keep competing at World Cups, says Joe Root.
Holders England, who are facing an early exit in India, played 42 one-day internationals in the build up to the 2023 World Cup, compared to 88 in the run up to their 2019 win.
English cricket's domestic 50-over competition takes place at the same time as The Hundred.
Root said more ODIs since 2019 would have "benefitted" England in India.
"I don't think we can use it as an excuse," added the batter and former Test captain.
"We're an experienced group of players that have played a lot together in the format.
"But it would have been nice to have a proper run in naturally and not just a rushed block of eight to 10 games or whatever."
After three defeats in four games at the start of their World Cup defence, England will likely need to win all five of their remaining group matches to qualify for the semi-finals.
Their preparation for the tournament was a four-match series at home against New Zealand in September. Three matches against Ireland followed but the travelling party did not feature.
Prior to that, with the Ashes dominating the summer, England's 50-over side last played in a three-match series against Bangladesh in early March.
In January they played three matches in South Africa but some first-team players, including Root, who instead played in the T20 league in the United Arab Emirates, were absent.
Of the England XI thrashed by South Africa on Saturday, only Gus Atkinson, who played two matches for Surrey in 2021, has played a domestic 50-over match since the last World Cup.
"When you're not playing the format, it's hard to know who the best players are," said Root.
"That being said, I don't think we've got the wrong squad of players here. I just don't think we've performed."
Although England's current squad has played little domestic 50-over cricket, few played regularly for their county in the run up to the 2019 tournament too - Ben Stokes has not played a domestic 50-over match in England since 2014.
And other leading nations have also been playing fewer ODIs, with the global schedule dominated by Test and T20 cricket.
When England lost to South Africa in January, Stokes responded to a tweet, external asking why the side was struggling in 50-over cricket by saying, "Begins with S ends with E and has chedul in there as well".
The One-Day Cup in England is now played at the same time as The Hundred and features largely features fringe players. It also competes in the calendar with the T20 Blast and the County Championship.
Root has been supportive of The Hundred,, external a tournament that some have argued should be expanded, while others want it scrapped.
"It doesn't make me change my mind about The Hundred," said Root. "It makes me question whether we should be playing more 50-over cricket instead of T20."
Asked how he would fit in more 50-over cricket, he said: "Instead of the Blast, maybe.
"There's talk of whether the 50-over format is relevant any more anyway, in international cricket. Whether that gets changed, I don't know.
"Who knows how things move in the future?
"Whether it's domestically or internationally, I don't think we play enough of it if we're going to continue to look to compete in World Cups."