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'You have to be on the ball the full time'

England haven't been consistently good in recent games and let opponents out of jail after often being in positions of strength, English batsman Jonathan Trott said on Friday.

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"We have not been on the ball in recent times and we have to realise that it is probably a thing of not playing a good 100 overs," said Trott, at a media interaction ahead of Sunday's crucial Group B encounter with South Africa in the World Cup.

"We have had matches in recent times where we have reached the halfway point to be in good positions and have lost the match in the second 50 overs. It happened in the Ashes and it happened against Ireland the other night.

"These are matches that we could have won but really could not finish them. So, it is a matter of being good for a hundred overs. Especially considering how quickly games these days can change. You have to be on the ball the full time," he added.

Peaking at the right time

Asked if England are finding it hard to peak twice in quick succession following their Ashes triumph, he said: "It's a World Cup. You might only come to one World Cup. It is dangerous to think how much cricket you have played in the last few moths. You just have to think of the occasion and do well."

He said the team has put the loss against Ireland behind and is concentrating on the match against South Africa.

"I think you got to realise that in the World Cup we have three games to go, three very winnable games ahead of us," he said. "So the key is to look to reach the quarter-finals and peak at the right time from there on.

"Of course, Ireland was a team that we were expected to beat, but it was a good wake up call for us, we now know what lies ahead of us."

South Africa are a good side

Asked about the strength and depth of England's upcoming opponents, he replied: "They are a very good side and their options in the spin department are very good, considering that the conditions suit them. They also have a bunch of good batters and we hope we hit our straps and get it right this time."

On the conditions in Chennai, he said it is not so much the temperature that he is worried about, but the humidity.

"It is not so much the temperature as the humidity," he said. "It is very humid here. But we have performed well in conditions like this, it was pretty hot in Brisbane during the Ashes and these conditions are not alien to us."

'It is always nice to help the team score big'

Trott also became the joint quickest to reach 1000 runs in One-dayers, finding a place alongside teammate Kevin Pietersen and the legendary Sir Vivian Richards.

"I am doing okay. It is always nice to help the team score big. It feels obviously very nice. It is an honor to be among them. But the important thing is you shouldn't stand still and go to the next thousand.

Asked if he was surprised to be in such company considering Peitersen and Richards's batting styles are more similar to each other's than his is to theirs, Trott retorted: "Seems to be a surprise to you more than me."

Finishing off the interaction on a lighter note, he deadpanned to a question on whether the associate nations should continue to figure in the World Cup in the light of the Ireland upset: "My opinion would definitely be for them not to play."