England place blame for World Cup failure on pitch conditions

Australian coach Justin Langer has praised the quality of pitches served up so far in the World Cup but in news that will surprise no-one the failing English team believe the decks have been poor.

Justin Langer has no problems with the World Cup pitches. Picture: Getty Images

• England players turn on fans
• Nervy times as Poms’ future hinges on big games

Justin Langer says the pitches in England are “one of the beauties of the World Cup” but the home team has started blaming its crumbling campaign on the surprisingly slow decks.

England entered the tournament targeting a world-record 500 runs but has been bowled out for 212 and 221 in its past two losses, relinquishing the No. 1 world ranking to India.

“The pitches that we’ve been playing on the last two years are surely the pitches we should be playing on in a World Cup,” opener Jonny Bairstow said.

“So I don’t know why they’ve changed. It wasn’t a typical Lord’s wicket that we played (Australia) on.

“They’re not the typical wickets we’ve been playing on — that’s just factual. But I’m not making excuses, we’ve not played well enough.”

Justin Langer has no problems with the World Cup pitches. Picture: Getty Images

England captain Eoin Morgan and No. 3 Joe Root have also criticised the wickets with run-rates in eight out of the nine venues used so far dropping since the 2015 World Cup.

At Southampton, 6.37 runs were scored per over during ODIs between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, but that has fallen to 4.76 for the five games in this edition.

“The wickets are going to be slow, low (and) they will wear,” Morgan said.

“It’s the nature of ICC events.”

Root said: “You look at some of the par scores and they have been very different to when we have played there in bilateral series”.

But Langer argued that groundsmen had produced “some really good cricket wickets”.

The Aussie players have been surprised at the lack of spin although tweakers have become more effective in recent days.

One newspaper reported that the pitch for England’s must-win clash against India on Sunday would hamper Morgan’s men.

Eoin Morgan has taken aim at the pitches England has played on this World Cup campaign. Picture: Getty Images

“Despite all the rain we are likely to see a dry, turning surface at Edgbaston that — surprise, surprise — will suit India,” it said.

Tournament director Steve Elworthy told the Herald Sun last month that “you don’t want slow wickets”.

Curators were told to prepare pitches without “huge lateral movement but with good carry” and said 500 runs was a possibility.

While England would prefer to play a semi-final at Manchester over Birmingham (Edgbaston), Langer was unfazed where the qualified Aussies played.

Manchester, which spins more than any other World Cup wicket, will host first versus fourth while second versus third is booked for Birmingham two days later.

Originally published as England place blame for World Cup failure on pitch conditions