Well that’s it from me – and for England’s hopes in this competition.That defeat of Bangladesh on October 10 seems a long time ago – since then a dirty great storm of poor form and spiralling lack of confidence. The holders still have two more games left – against the Netherlands and Pakistan – from which to salvage some pride and a possible Champions Trophy place.
Australia, meanwhile, are up and away, with clear water between them and New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A semi-final place is very likely, if not yet mathematically sealed. The reports from today will be in place soon, thanks for all your messages – goodnight!
Buttler did speak. This is what he said: “I feel like we are having the same chat after every game at the minute. There were improvements again today. We got back to more like how we can play but still short of it to lose by 30 odd.
“There’s plenty of ways to find those 30 runs we needed. It certainly feels like a low point. I’ve had a few but definitely as a captain. To be stood in this position having arrived in India with high hopes is incredibly tough and disappointing. It hurts a lot.
“We haven’t done ourselves justice. Coming into the tournament we fancied ourselves to have a real go and push whoever it was going to be all the way. It’s incredibly tough to reach those highs absolutely. Everyone knows how much hard work goes into that, and even when you come up short.
“We’ve let ourselves down. We’ve let down people down at home, who support us through thick and thin and we wear that on our own shoulders.”
Jos, dump that guilt. We all fail – but most of us without the huge success first.
