Cricket World Cup: England still confident - Trevor Bayliss

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ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019
Dates: 30 May - 14 July, 2019
Live coverage: Ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special, plus text commentary, clips and highlights on the BBC Sport website

England remain confident of progressing to the World Cup semi-finals despite a shock 20-run defeat by Sri Lanka on Friday, says coach Trevor Bayliss.

England stay third in the 10-team table, but their three most difficult group games - against Australia, India and New Zealand - are still to come.

"We know if we play good cricket we are hard to beat," said Bayliss.

"That doesn't guarantee success, but as long as we're playing good cricket we give ourselves a chance."

England were the pre-tournament favourites but have not beaten any of their remaining three opponents in the World Cup since 1992.

They face Australia at Lord's on Tuesday, before playing India at Edgbaston next Sunday and New Zealand in Durham three days later.

"We've played well against these three teams in the recent past, so we're as confident as you can be going into the next match," Bayliss told Test Match Special.

England were set a target of 233 to chase on an increasingly difficult pitch at Headingley on Friday, but were smothered by a brilliant Sri Lanka bowling performance.

Bayliss says his side were "outplayed" by their opponents on a slow wicket and needed to find more urgency towards the beginning of their innings.

"We pride ourselves over the past few years in being able to find a way to win in those situations," said the Australian.

"They were very disciplined with the lengths they bowled. It wasn't a great wicket to play shots on - it was a little bit slow - and we saw that in the Sri Lanka innings as well.

"When you have got a couple of teams with some very good batters who are struggling to time the ball, it tells you the wicket was probably a little bit slow."

Bayliss says he is unsure whether Jason Roy will be fit to face Australia and will not rush the batsman back into his side.

Roy tore his hamstring in the defeat of West Indies last Friday and has missed the matches against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

"If someone of Jason's ilk is not playing, of course you're going to miss them," said Bayliss.

"That's the game. He's injured and I'm not exactly sure when he'll be back, but we are looking forward to him coming back.

"We're not going to risk him, that's for sure. We'll play each game as it comes and get the medical people to let us know whether they think he is right for the next game."

World Cup group table
RankTeamPWLTNRRRPts
1New Zealand650011.30611
2Australia651000.84910
3India540020.8099
4England642001.4578
5Sri Lanka62202-1.1196
6Bangladesh62301-0.4075
7West Indies614010.193
8South Africa61401-0.1933
9Pakistan51301-1.9333
10Afghanistan60600-1.7120

Top four go through to semi-finals

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131 comments

  • Comment posted by FreeUK, at 18:20 22 Jun 2019

    It was a shocking performance. Vince & Ali need to go back to county cricket. I think the team are basically flat track bullies. And when it gets more tactical on a working mans pitch they cannot adapt.

  • Comment posted by thought full, at 19:27 22 Jun 2019

    4. Dreadlock Holiday "Malinga isn’t a chucker 1. You clearly don’t know the rules"

    Your right. They simply changed the rules to accommodate him and the No 1 chucker Muralidharan.

    I have admired lots of bowler's over the years: Lillee, Magrath, Holding Marshall, Sobers, Donald, Warne, Gibbs, Bidi. Imran Khan to name just a few.

    Nobody will convince me Malinga & Muralidharan don't throw

  • Comment posted by Psychic Camel, at 18:47 22 Jun 2019

    G'day Agent Bayliss. Sydney calling. Your mission is almost complete. 2 more defeats and you can return to the Mother Land.

  • Comment posted by Glencoyne, at 20:33 22 Jun 2019

    Mr. Bayliss is quoted as saying, "We know if we play good cricket we are hard to beat". This is so profound a statement. Each team in this world cup can claim the same.

  • Comment posted by The Major, at 18:10 22 Jun 2019

    I’ll agree with you Trevor if we can get Roy and Plunkett in for the Aus game. Vince and Ali not good enough

  • Comment posted by gsmid01, at 21:46 22 Jun 2019

    How come Agnew's premature triumphalism after swatting aside Afghanistan in a domineering manner, has now become contagious nervosity at the prospect of having to beat one of India, Australia, NZ. If we can't be sure of beating one if not two of these teams, how did the betting world ever manage to make us favourites in the first place?

  • Comment posted by Comercial Darkness, at 20:04 22 Jun 2019

    To 20
    Surely Morgan, Bairstow & Buttler are also at fault they are meant to be front line batsman after all.
    4 of the top six added just 45 runs that was the issue.

  • Comment posted by wizard, at 19:58 22 Jun 2019

    @31 I don't know about Malinga, he's got such a peculiar round arm action but it doesn't look as if his elbow is bent at point of release. Murali though, no doubt about it. It's a travesty that he is the leading wicket taker in tests ahead of Warne who was a genius. And yet all the know alls like Athers and Vaughan say nothing!

  • Comment posted by golf25, at 19:14 22 Jun 2019

    Hales shouldnt be close to any England team ever.He should be in jail after kicking that guy on the floor and then didnt learn from it.Also just a flat track bully

  • Comment posted by veekay1, at 12:07 23 Jun 2019

    29. Golf25

    "Hales shouldnt be close to any England team ever.He should be in jail after kicking that guy on the floor and then didnt learn from it."

    So we are just making things up now are we?

    Fair enough; reminds me of that day when I shared a hundred stand with Bradman. I got 68 of them. Happy days.

  • Comment posted by Phil, at 20:49 22 Jun 2019

    Disgraceful of some to suggest Sri Lanka were cheating in some way. On the day they were better than us. That is sport. I am a Yorkshireman, so I hate losing, but you have to accept results and move on.

  • Comment posted by tediouslybrief, at 19:51 22 Jun 2019

    It's perfectly straightforward. England have lost a couple of games they should really have won. Now all they need to do is win some games that they are probably going to lose.

  • Comment posted by Stephen Taylor, at 18:44 22 Jun 2019

    FFC2- Please stop this unfounded ball chucking tirade you are on. Malinga's action is not chucking and has undergone numerous reviews from the ICC over many years and been declared legal . You are just bitter Malinga got 4 Englnd batsmen out . If England hadn't lost you wouldn't be bothered about Malinga.

  • Comment posted by wizard, at 20:21 22 Jun 2019

    @43 Well I'm not a bowling coach but listening to the likes of Holding and Wasim a cocked wrist at the point of delivery is what they have been praising Archer for.

  • Comment posted by Astle2005, at 18:39 22 Jun 2019

    Bayliss & Morgan "We have nothing to worry about" Well, here are the teams England still have to play;

    Australia (Cummins & Starc)

    India (Bumrah & co)

    And lastly the most balanced side in tournament in NZ

    I'm not saying they won't qualify but just saying..

  • Comment posted by georgeb, at 07:04 23 Jun 2019

    Moeen's shot was only just short of six. The idea is to get runs, not to block until you get out. It was a limited overs match. If it had been six he would have been a hero. I commented a few days ago, "could I get in first" and blame Moeen in case we lost our next match.

  • Comment posted by U17038446, at 18:53 22 Jun 2019

    England have lost two games they should have won. Not sure where their head is at the moment. Does not bode well for the real pressure games to come.

  • Comment posted by Harvey_the_white, at 18:46 22 Jun 2019

    Bayliss would do well every now and then to call out the biggest culprits ( Vince, Ali and archer from the batting vs SL ) rather than always defending the players.

    The situation needed cool heads and some were unable to think calmly under pressure

  • Comment posted by U16672255, at 18:41 22 Jun 2019

    9: The Australian team hasn't done anything special in this world cup! If (horror of all horrors), the Australian team go on to win this year's world cup, what a negative advertisement that will be for the game (in all formats). It will more or less say: "cheat as much as you want, as the punishment will be no more than a mere slap on the wrist." See... Warner & Smith.

  • Comment posted by Dougal, at 21:40 22 Jun 2019

    At least it makes it more interesting a contest when you get an upset or two. These low scoring games are by far more exciting that the 390 extended T20 slogathons. Today's with India/Afgan by far the best yet

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