Men's ODI WC: McCullum backs England to recover from poor start

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Brendon McCullum has expressed confidence in England's ability to bounce back from their less-than-stellar beginning in the World Cup defense. Despite suffering two defeats in their initial three matches, McCullum believes that there is ample time for Jos Buttler's side to catch up in the tournament.

England's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign got off to a rocky start with a nine-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener and followed that up with a huge 137-run win over Bangladesh. Then, a jarring 69-run defeat to Afghanistan last Sunday stung the reigning champions.

Despite the early setback in the showpiece event, McCullum reckoned there is more than enough quality in the England squad to make it over the line.

"They will get there. It is still early days and this tournament is a slow burn, so there is plenty of time and matches for them to catch up," McCullum told Mirror.

England's defeat to Afghanistan on Sunday was the first upset of the tournament, but they weren't alone in facing unexpected challenges, as South Africa too had a similar humbling experience against the Netherlands.

"It is a World Cup, so there is going to be the odd upset and that is what you want in a tournament like this. Look at what happened to South Africa. That was a strong win from the Dutch and there will be other unexpected results before the tournament is over.

England, holders of both the 50-overs title and the T20 World Cup, have six games left in the round-robin to qualify as one of the last four in their quest to defend the trophy. They are currently fifth in the standings with one win from three games.

“Of course, the boys would have liked to be 3 and 0, but sport doesn’t work like that and sometimes you have to cope with challenges and then show how good you are. One thing is for sure, there are good reasons why England have won two World Cups recently.

"It is the quality of the players and the manner with which they play the game that makes them a world class side. They just need to stay true to their method and their style which has brought them so much success and not get shaken by the odd bad day at the office," McCullum said.

England will next play South Africa on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.