England didn't get execution right under pressure at World Cup, says fielding coach Carl Hopkinson
England have not been able to execute their plans under pressure at the 50-over Cricket World Cup in India, their fielding coach Carl Hopkinson said on Tuesday.
The out-of-form 2019 champions were eliminated from the showpiece event after losing six of their seven group matches to date, despite arriving as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Their star-studded batting lineup, which includes the likes of captain Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Joe Root, has managed just a single 200-plus total in the last four outings.
"I think cricket can be a game of - It's about executing under pressure, isn't it? Everybody knows that, and I think this team has been well known for doing that really, really well," Hopkinson said ahead of Wednesday's match against the Netherlands in Pune.
"It's an incredibly skilful team, a very talented team, but at key moments in certain situations, we haven't executed under pressure like we normally do.
"I think that's something that we can always look to improve on in practice and everything you go about doing.
"It's not to say that lads aren't trying to do that in practice, they obviously are, but we haven't got that right in key moments and I think that's something that we can definitely improve on."
England, who face the Netherlands and Pakistan in their remaining matches, are now fighting for a top-eight finish to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
When asked what the four-year plan from here is to put things right, Hopkinson said: "I think first and foremost we have to think about what's coming tomorrow. I think anything that comes after that is what comes after that.
"We need to be thinking about tomorrow, we need to be thinking about Pakistan because we've got two very important games in which we need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do."
England sit at the bottom of the table, two points behind ninth-placed Netherlands.
