Captain Eoin Morgan has insisted that morale is still high inside the England camp and they are looking to respond to a disappointing opening in the World Cup with an improved showing against New Zealand on Friday.
England face the Black Caps in their second Pool A game after falling to a 111-run defeat to Australia on Saturday, and whilst Morgan denies feeling under added pressure to deliver a result, says the squad are prepared to bounce back against Brendon McCullum’s men.
“There’s always that level of expectation. We’re expected to win games of cricket after getting off to not an ideal start, the guys were really disappointed but we’ve dusted ourselves down and look ahead to Friday’s game,” he said.
However, the 28-year-old did admit that the tough start could stand them in good stead for the later stages of the tournament, saying: “There is a sense of frustration.
“The big games that we play, these first two games in particular, are great practice for the later stages in the tour and if we can get wins under our belt against good opposition it can breed confidence for later in the tour, ideally you’d build that before the big games but that’s just the way they fall.”
The one major positive to take from the Australia defeat was the form of James Taylor, whose unbeaten 98 was not only his highest one-day international score but a remarkable effort given the circumstances.
Performances such as these suggest England are close to making a real impression on the tournament according to Morgan, who also said he had no concerns over the form of his players.
He explained: “Re-engaging with our batting hasn’t been too difficult. We’ve got guys who have scored runs on this tour and have done really well and again refocusing on what we’ve done well when we’ve scored runs has been important over the last few days.
“The fact that we have individual performances to build on, if we were sitting here thinking we’ve been blown away in every game we’ve played - which we haven’t done since we’ve arrived here - would be extremely disappointing and there would be doubt there but there certainly isn’t.”
In the nets: all-rounder @ravibopara faces local bowlers in Wellington #CWC15pic.twitter.com/HOPVNZxaze
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 18, 2015
Morgan, who was snapped up to play in the Indian Premier League alongside Ravi Bopara and Kevin Pietersen at Sunrisers Hyderabad, also praised the make-up of the players at his disposal and backed them to come good.
“The squad is pretty strong together, and pretty well built and I think the more we play together the more ideal it will be,” he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Mike Hesson reckons England are a force to be reckoned with.
"They're a dangerous side. They've got a lot of quality players," he said.
"Some are in form, some are not so much so. Their seam attack have got good pace and bounce - and they bat pretty deep so they're a dangerous outfit."