It’s the same old story for sorry England
CAPTAIN Andrew Strauss bemoaned “Groundhog Day” at the Rose Bowl yesterday as England crashed to a third successive defeat in the one-day series with Australia.
Strauss led the line from the front with a stylish 63 only to be let down by his batting line-up once again as England’s 228-9 was easily overturned by the tourists thanks to a fine century from Cameron White.
White smashed 105 to see the Aussies home with six wickets and nine balls to spare, leaving Strauss with much to think about for the remaining four games in the seven-match series.
The England skipper said: “It was Groundhog Day if I’m honest. We didn’t get enough runs on the board and our top six batters didn’t perform well enough.
“That’s an issue we need to address, though we bowled pretty well.”
This was the third successive match that a lack of runs has cost England dear, and Strauss was jeered by sections of the Hampshire crowd when suggesting the top order would not be altered for the sake of it despite the obvious struggles of Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior and Owais Shah.
“It’s mainly a confidence thing,” he added. “The guys in the top six have earned the right to play for England, they’re not bad players.”
Only a well-crafted 43 from Eoin Morgan in the middle order gave England some cheer, although, but for an entertaining final partnership from Tim Bresnan (31) and Ryan Sidebottom (24), the defeat would have been by a greater margin.