England say they won’t tone down their aggressive instincts when they take on Australia on Tuesday, despite a shock defeat to Sri Lanka exposing what former captain Michael Vaughan believes is the side’s “one downfall”.
Next week’s hotly-anticipated clash at Lord’s between the Ashes rivals took on an extra layer of intrigue on Friday as England slumped to their second defeat of the tournament after failing to chase down Sri Lanka’s modest total of 9-232 at Headingley.
England’s aggressive batting line-up has made them the No 1 ODI team in the world, but the likes of Vaughan have questioned their decision-making in pressure moments.
Moeen Ali was singled out at Headingley after he tried to hit back-to-back sixes and was caught at long-off, with his dismissal sparking a match-changing collapse of 5-42.
“England have not played with any smartness,” Vaughan told the BBC. “The game was won when Moeen Ali hit a six and he tried to hit another. I hope we are not in an era where in the dressing you can't say ‘that is not good enough’.”
“What this has proven is the one downfall of this England side. We have all said that if England play smart cricket then they will be the team to beat. But they didn’t.”
England have comfortably scored faster than any other side in the world since their early exit from the 2015 World Cup, with their run-rate of 6.31 well above their nearest challenger Australia (5.78).
Missteps from Eoin Morgan's side have been few and far between in that period, but their ability to play a more restrained game with the bat when conditions are against them has come into question before, most notably when Pakistan knocked them out of the Champions Trophy in 2017.
In the semi-final at Cardiff, England folded for just 211 on a used pitch despite being heavily favoured to win the tournament.
Warm London weather and a fresh wicket at Lord's should, however, make for favourable batting conditions come Tuesday's clash with Australia.
Asked if his side’s belief in their aggressive strategy is as strong as ever, Morgan replied: “There is no reason why it shouldn’t be. We are going to play competitive games. We are not going to win every game in this World Cup. We still need to go back to the process that's taken us to being a strong side in the world. I think the message is quite simple — we need to do the basics along with the way that we play as well.”
The tournament hosts had been heavily favoured to reach the semi-finals, but that could be in jeopardy if they slip up against any of their final three group-stage opponents — Australia, New Zealand and India, all of whom currently hold top-four spots.
England haven’t beaten any of those teams at a World Cup since the 1992 edition, but recent history may be a better guide to how Morgan’s side will respond and it doesn’t spell good news for the Aussies.
In their last 46 ODIs on their home turf, England have not lost two consecutive games, a trend Morgan is well aware of.
"When we get beaten, we tend come back quite strong," he said. "We tend to resort to (playing) aggressive, smart, positive cricket.
"Let's hope that is the case on Tuesday."