'Many of the players are undercooked', says Michael Atherton on England's shocking defeat

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) Following England's shocking 69-run loss to Afghanistan in the ongoing 2023 Men's ODI Cricket World Cup, former captain Michael Atherton slammed players, especially bowlers, by calling them "undercooked".

The upset victory was Afghanistan’s second-ever triumph in a men’s Cricket World Cup - and certainly their biggest at the showpiece event - as they outplayed the defending champions in all areas of the game on Sunday.

Afghanistan took advantage of a lackluster bowling performance to achieve a total of 284 runs before successfully dismissing England for 215. Harry Brook stood out as the main batsman providing strong resistance, leading the scoring with 66 runs.

Speaking in Sky Sports, Atherton laid the blame on the team’s inconsistent bowling attack, with Woakes giving up 31 runs off his first three overs and Sam Curran also conceding 46 runs off four overs.

"England haven’t bowled well enough and teams have got off to fliers against them. There are reasons. Many of the players are undercooked in terms of cricketing time, time in ODIs. But they have not hit the ground running and have made things very difficult for themselves now," Atherton said

"I think England started badly today. They were sloppy. Five wides to start, Curran giving away a free hit in the early overs. A misfield from Bairstow that went for four. They just looked a bit off the pace and that set the tone. They were always chasing the game from that point on," he added.

A first loss to Afghanistan in any format left England with only one win from their first three matches in the tournament and with little room for error in their remaining six group games.

England will next take on South Africa in Mumbai on October 21 while Afghanistan lock horns with New Zealand on October 18.