England were supine against Australia and again looked over the hill...
Matthew Mott needs to turn things around fast or faces a bleak fate, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH England again lost in disappointing fashion to Australia at the T20 World Cup Matthew Mott's side have shown few improvements on last year's ODI debacle There are concerns behind the scenes that Australian Mott is not up to the task By Lawrence Booth Published: 17:13, 9 June 2024 | Updated: 17:13, 9 June 2024 e-mail 2 View comments As Moeen Ali urged England to stay calm after their 36-run thrashing by Australia on Saturday, it was hard not to think back to his previous appearance in a World Cup mixed zone - at Ahmedabad's cavernous Narendra Modi Stadium in November. England had just lost to the Australians on that occasion too, and deep in the stadium's bowels Moeen wondered whether the team were over the hill. Yet here he was again, gamely saying all the right things after another match in which Jos Buttler 's side looked creaking and rudderless.
Two additions, it's true, have strengthened the team since the Indian fiasco: Phil Salt's punishing 37 off 23 balls at the weekend confirmed his top-order verve, while Jofra Archer has, as expected, added class to the attack. But, in T20 , two tweaks go only so far. And England's faltering chase of 202 against Australia suggested a side who have not gone far enough.
From 92 for one in 10th over, they managed just four more sixes - three by Moeen in six balls from Glenn Ma.
