Cardiff: England captain Eoin Morgan insisted here Wednesday that his side would stay true to their attacking style after an eight-wicket Champions Trophy semifinal thrashing by Pakistan.
Wednesday’s loss here meant England’s wait for a first major ICC ODI tournament triumph will continue until at least 2019 – when they stage the next World Cup.
England had come into the semifinals winning 11 out of their last 12 ODI encounters. They were also the only team unbeaten in the competition. But it was their batting which failed them on a crucial day as Pakistan romped home.
“One of the huge contributing factors towards topping our table and playing very good cricket in the group stages is that we’ve stayed true to what we believe in and what’s worked for us the last couple of years, and I think that’s the continued formula for the future,” the Middlesex batsman told reporters after the game.
“I think it will have to evolve in whatever manner the game does over the next two years in the lead-in to the World Cup, but certainly I think we’re moving in the right direction. One of the things about knockout cricket is that you have to adapt to conditions.
“It’s a big challenge jumping from venue to venue but we’re going to have to do that with the World Cup so it’s important for us to go through games like today (Wednesday) for our experience,” added the former Irish star.
Morgan, however, did give credit to Pakistan for their victory, especially their bowlers. “I thought they bowled really well. They adjusted to conditions extremely well,” said Morgan.
“I think, going into today’s game knowing that we were going to play on a used wicket potentially brought Pakistan’s game closer to their home (conditions). So it was a big challenge and one that was too far for us. But they utilised the conditions well,” added the captain.
