'They have collapsed as a unit' - Nasser Hussain slams England after abject loss to Sri Lanka in World Cup 2023

On Thursday, England took on Sri Lanka in the teams' fifth match of the 2023 World Cup at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

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England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first on a ground that has by and large been favourable for batting. They were given a reprieve on the very first ball when Dilshan Madushanka rapped Jonny Bairstow on the pads, but the umpire's not out decision was not reviewed.

That was as good as it got for the defending champions, who slipped from 45/0 to 77/4, 123/7 and finally 156 all out in 33.2 overs. Ben Stokes was the lone warrior with 43. In reply, Sri Lanka lost the early wickets of Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis, but Pathum Nissanka (77*) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65*) put on 137 for the third wicket, finishing the chase in just 25.4 overs.

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"They have all collapsed as a unit" - Nasser Hussain slams England team

Speaking after the game, former England captain Nasser Hussain provided his thoughts on the team's performance, saying the blame lay with the collective, and not any specific individual. He said,

Back to back, I've not seen England play as badly as that. They've changed their tactics, changed their all-rounders, changed the toss, they batted first. So it shows, really, that tactics are important, team is important, what you do at the toss is important. But the most important thing in any sport, in cricket in particular, is to have players at the top of their game, especially in the World Cup.

If you walk in that dressing room now, and asked them to put their hand on their heart and say 'are you in good nick?', I reckon maybe one or two could say that. They have all collapsed as a unit.

🗣️ "Back to back, I've not seen England play as badly as that"

🗣️ "They have ALL collapsed as a unit"

Nasser Hussain reacts to England's heavy defeat to Sri Lanka 🔊 pic.twitter.com/ZrYEerLEWk

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 26, 2023

The implosion of England as a side at this World Cup has confounded many. An almost-identical squad won the World Cup in 2019, before going on to lift the T20 World Cup trophy in 2022. However, as things stand they have won just one out of five games and look to be heading out of the tournament.

Who will win the 2023 World Cup?

India, Australia and South Africa are among the top five favourites for the 2023 World Cup title. The odds from Dafabet are as follows:

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