Hussain and Lloyd disagree on "lame excuses" behind England's World Cup failure
Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd have slammed Jos Buttler's side for their disastrous performances at the Cricket World Cup, but disagree over who is to blame for England's woes.
England are all but out of the tournament already after suffering four defeats in five games, including a shock defeat to Afghanistan, a record-breaking loss to South Africa and a humiliating capitulation against Sri Lanka.
And with England's defence of the trophy they won in dramatic fashion on home soil back in 2019 petering out with a whimper, Hussain believes the blame lies solely with the players and does not want them to be given a "cop out" with "lame excuses".
"I have not seen this England side play as badly in any back to back matches as they have against South Africa in Mumbai and now here against Sri Lanka," Hussain said in his column for the Daily Mail. "That doesn't take anything away from what this England side have achieved.
"We can be all doom and gloom and say 'get rid of the lot of them' but they have given us six or seven years of absolutely brilliant white-ball cricket. What they have done is magical and all round the world franchises want England's white ball players but what they have done in the last three weeks has not reflected the type of players they are and what Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler have created.
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"Instead they have been a sad reflection of what they have been over the last few years." Hussain rubbished suggestions a lack of 50-over cricket played by England's top stars and the introduction of The Hundred, which has marginalised the domestic One-Day Cup, are behind England's poor displays in India.
"What I don't like to do is give players a cop out," he added. "We say how great they are when they win two World Cups but when the wheels come off some blame the structure of English cricket.
England have suffered a string of humiliating defeats at the Cricket World Cup (Matt Roberts-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)"I've heard people at home are doing that but this is not the fault of the Hundred or the Blast or the fact England's best players do not play much 50-over cricket. They are just lame excuses. How much 50-over cricket do Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play? Or Heinrich Klaasen?
"Players around the world learn from T20 franchise cricket and ours learn from a domestic structure that helped make them the best white-ball side in the world. The players must take the responsibility for this."
Lloyd, however, does believe the fact that England's best players simply "haven't played enough" 50-over cricket leading into the World Cup has contributed to their disappointing campaign. The former England coach also criticised both the "structure of the game" and cricket chiefs for allowing players to regularly miss games so they can rest.
David Lloyd has hit out at England's poor preparation for the World Cup (PA)"When you look at the squad I thought 'this is tasty, they're going to be a real powerhouse' but it just hasn't happened," Lloyd told talkSPORT. "They've had a chronic lack of form, but I don't know how you get better at any sport sat down. I think you've got to play it.
"They haven't played enough, they weren't prepared for India. It's totally different in India than playing in England with the pitches, the culture and so on. I think the structure of the game and the amount of cricket that has to be played (is to blame).
"But you see so many of the players who are resting. I don't get that resting, but I'm a bit old school. I think you get better by playing and you can have too much rest. I haven't found any sportsman who gets better sat on his backside."
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