Nasser Hussain Irked With English Players’ ‘Lame Excuses’ For Poor Performance In ODI World Cup

The Jos Buttler-led side are now almost out of the semi-final race following their humiliating eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on October 26. It is England’s fourth defeat in five appearances thus far in the campaign.

Featuring in an interview with Sky Sports, Former England skipper Nasser Hussain lashed out at those players who blamed the lack of 50-over cricket in England’s domestic structure for the team’s below-par form. This seemed nothing short of a “lame excuse” for Hussain.

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“What I don’t like is giving players a cop-out and I think sometimes we do that in English cricket. When they win the 50-over World Cup, the T20 World Cup, aren’t they great, they’re brilliant and when the wheels come off, it’s the structure of English cricket. We’re a disgrace,” Nasser Hussain said.

The cricketer-turned-pundit further brought out the reference to players like Virat Kohli and Heinrich Klassen, who are also not familiar with playing 50-over cricket domestically in recent times. According to Hussain, these players gather experience in white-ball cricket by competing in franchise tournaments.

“How much 50-over cricket domestically has Virat Kohli played, or Heinrich Klassen? They learn from T20 franchises around the world. That’s what’s made this great side over the last six years, travelling around the world and playing T20 franchise cricket. It’s such a lame excuse. You’re giving the players a cop-out when you blame the structure, which made them world champions. It’s exactly the same structure,” Hussain explained.

READ: ODI World Cup 2023 Semifinals Race: How England Can Still Qualify for Knockouts After Loss to Sri Lanka

The ex-cricketer, however, agreed to the fact that England didn’t play enough practice games before coming to India for the World Cup assignment. But he refused to accept that this was the only reason for their underwhelming performance in the tournament.

“Yeah, maybe you didn’t give them enough games and practice leading into this tournament. But it was the structure that produced them so when they messed up, they messed up, not the structure,” Hussain added.

England began their journey in this World Cup with a rematch of the last final, where they beat New Zealand based on boundary count to secure the coveted trophy for the first time in history. The Kiwis emerged victorious this time as they registered a 9-wicket win in the tournament opener. Following that, England managed to bounce back against Bangladesh. But they failed to continue the momentum in the subsequent games, falling victim to Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively.