Former captain Nasser Hussain offers bizarre excuse for England’s World Cup shocker
Nasser Hussain claims the World Cup being so close to the Ashes has left England “physically and mentally exhausted”.
Former captain Nasser Hussain has blamed the timing of the World Cup for why England have failed to fire. Hussain says the lack of time to recover and prepare after the Ashes series left England “physically and mentally exhausted”.
The Poms were bundled out of the World Cup without ever looking likely to defend it, finishing seventh. England sat bottom of the lot for a while after losses to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka but Hussain told the Daily Mail, the odds were stacked against England from the start.
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"It's hard for England because of the timing of World Cups on the back of an Ashes series,” the former England captain said. “There’s so much focus on the Ashes that come the end of it, you are mentally exhausted. You look at players like Chris Woakes and Mark Wood and both were mentally and physically exhausted. So it’s about planning across formats."
England won the 2019 ODI World Cup before the Ashes took place in the English summer this year, later than usual, and Hussain said it is vital that the team has a "reset" between Test series and white ball campaigns.
"There was a white ball reset under (former captain Eoin) Morgan," he said. "Then there was a red ball reset under Stokes. Actually what we could do is have a reset across the board, which is what Indian cricket does really well. We need to give each format equal care and attention all the way through.
"It's hard for England with the timing of a lot of these World Cup’s at the end of the summer so it’s about never taking your eye off any format because if you do, sides will go past you when you think that you’re okay. But that is not easy to do when you’ve got so many players playing all the time."
Australia face World Cup weather dilemma
Australia are set to face South Africa in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday, but an unforeseen element looms as a potential threat. Pat Cummins' side have won seven games on the trot following back-to-back losses to India and South Africa to start the tournament.
The Aussies will be looking for revenge when they take on the Proteas on Thursday, after India and New Zealand clash in the first semi-final on Wednesday. But some worrying weather forecasts have emerged as a potential threat to Australia's hopes, with South Africa in the box seat should rain play a factor.
The forecast for Kolkata is looking pretty bleak, with a 60 per cent chance of rain on Thursday and a 70 per cent chance for Friday. There is a reserve day available if the weather ruins things on Thursday, meaning the game can be completed on Friday.
But if the game can't be completed, South Africa will advance to the final because they finished in front of Australia after the group stages.
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