CHESTER-LE-STREET, June 30: England coach Duncan Fletcher said his side's batsmen needed to alter their approach if they were to prevent the collapses that have contributed to two crushing defeats in the triangular series one-day triangular event.
On Tuesday, England were bowled out for just 101 by New Zealand here at the Riverside - their sixth lowest One-day International score - in a seven-wicket defeat against the Black Caps.
That followed Sunday's seven-wicket reverse against the West Indies at Trent Bridge where England were dismissed for a meagre 147, also after batting first. Now Fletcher's men are struggling to qualify for the July 10 final at Lord's, with England captain Michael Vaughan saying they need to win at least two of their remaining three matches starting with Thursday's day/ nighter against the West Indies at Headingley to have a chance.
England's losses have led to fresh calls for Robert Key, the in-form Kent batsman who is in the squad but has yet to feature in the series, to be given a game. His inclusion would give England an extra batsman and possibly help compensate for the absence of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, the hard-hitting Lancashire batsman, who is out for the whole series with an ankle injury.
But Vaughan has said who plays is not the issue and Fletcher insisted it was the batsmen's mental approach that needed most attention. "The batting order might stay the same, but we will have to have a look at that," said Flectcher on Wednesday.
"I think it is more the thinking process rather than the technical aspects of it. "It is difficult because I can't put myself into the batters' brains but I think they are looking to get 240 or 250.
"Cricket is a game where you have to think on your feet and that means getting out there and after two or three overs having a look at things and realising it is not a 250 wicket and 180 can be quite a competitive score and 200 is a good score.
"At the moment even when the ball is seaming around we still want to get to 250 or 260 and we are looking to get 80 in 15 overs, but if you try to build partnerships you never know what can happen at the back end of an innings."
The former Zimbabwe captain added: "The crucial thing is the thinking process. When you are desperate and you want to do well for your country it puts added pressure on you and that alters your decision making and suddenly things start to crumble around you.
"The important thing is that they must be confident in their ability and assess situations pretty quickly and then put a plan together to overcome that." One plus for England has been the form of fast bowler Stephen Harmison.
On Tuesday the Durham quick, playing his first One-day International on his home ground, took career-best figures of three for 38 including a burst of three wickets for 10 runs in eight balls.
"You could see the way he was following through down the wicket and the pace he was bowling at - I don't think there are many batsmen in world cricket today would have liked to have been out there," Fletcher said of Harmison, a key figure in England's recent 3-0 Test series victories against both the West Indies and New Zealand. "I am really glad we have got him. We just have to make sure we look after him so he is around for a long time." -AFP
