England are feeling the heat in the run-up to the ‘make-or-break’ match against Bangladesh in Pool A of the World Cup at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide on Monday.
And this pressure will prove too much for their bowlers to show their ‘real’ skill, thinks Bangladesh former bowling coach Ian Pont.
A loss will see them catch an early flight back home, having lost three of their four outings in the World Cup.
Even if they win their last two group matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, they will still fail to make it to the quarterfinals if the Tigers beat co-hosts New Zealand.
England have just two points having beaten Scotland.
Adding to the woes of England, bowling spearheads James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who rely on swing, are out of form.
They have managed just two wickets apiece in the World Cup so far.
Pont, who coach Bangladesh bowlers when they defeated England in the 2011 World Cup, said Anderson seemed to have lost his skill.
“Anderson’s weapon is swing, but he has lost that ability at the moment,” he said, according to Espncricinfo.com.
“When a bowler as renowned for his skill as Anderson has a problem it does make you wonder: it is a stress thing? Is he a bit tight; a bit anxious? Is he trying too hard?
“The key to improving is identifying the problem,” added Pont, who has been utilised by the likes of Dale Steyn and Shoaib Akhtar as a bowling coach.
“If the problem is the players, they can be changed. But these are good players. We know that.
“If the problem is the coaches, they can be changed. And if the problem is the system, that can be changed. But if the issue is the culture… well, that’s a bit more difficult,” The former Essex fast bowler added.
Dermot Reeve, a swing bowling member of England’s 1992 squad, agreed with Pont.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper and vice-captain Jos Buttler said there might be change in the batting against Bangladesh.
He said Alex Hales might have a go having been overlooked in the past four matches.
“Alex Hales enjoys the big occasion. He’s an explosive player. I think he’s a fantastic player and he will be a fantastic player for England in the future.
“If he gets his chance I’m sure that he is desperate to do well.”
England started its World Cup journey with a defeat against Australia, before going on to lose in the second match against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka inflicted another stinging defeat on them in their other match.
Buttler said the members of his team were not in a great mood after such bad performance.
Source: Bd news24
