CARDIFF: Nasser Hussain said it was “disrespectful” to Pakistan to blame England’s shock eight-wicket Champions Trophy semi-final defeat on a used Cardiff pitch.
The pitch played more like a sub-continental surface than a British one and England captain Eoin Morgan said afterwards: “Coming from Edgbaston, it was obviously a big jump in pace and bounce and too much of an ask for us to adjust to really.”
Morgan added Pakistan were more comfortable because “they played two days ago on it (when beating Sri Lanka in a virtual quarter-final)”.
“There will be a lot of talk about the Cardiff pitch after Pakistan dumped England out of the Champions Trophy. But that won’t wash with me,” Hussain wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“It’s disrespectful to Pakistan, who played brilliantly and made the best of the conditions.”
Meanwhile Hussain lamented England’s “timid play’, which he said was in marked contrast to the way they had revived their ODI fortunes since a woeful first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup.
“Their coach Trevor Bayliss has always asked for them to play smart cricket, not just gung-ho cricket. This was anything but smart. In fact, it was timid.”
Meanwhile Michael Vaughan, another ex-England captain, said in his Daily Telegraph column that he felt “flatter” than at the time of their World Cup exit two years ago.
The Ashes-winning skipper added: “Here they had every facet covered with 10 of the 11 players in form and the side playing a style of cricket that makes them a match for any team in the world, so to play that badly in a semi-final, with everything riding on the game, was terribly disappointing.”
Michael Atherton, a fellow former England captain, said Morgan’s men had “fluffed their lines”.