Jason Mohammed hit his 22^nd List A fifty to help the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force beat the West Indies Academy by four wickets in their CG United Super50 Cup encounter at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday.

The Academy first posted a respectable 263-8 from their 50 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Former West Indies Under-19 Captain Ackeem Auguste led the way for the Academy with a 63-ball 76* including six fours and three sixes while opener Matthew Nandu and all-rounder Kevin Wickham provided good support with 40 and 31, respectively.

Sunil Narine was the pick of the Red Force bowlers with 2-33 from his 10 overs.

The Red Force then needed 48.4 overs to reach 264-6 and bring up their fourth victory in five games.

Mohammed led the way with an unbeaten 70 off 86 balls including seven fours while opener Tion Webster hit a 63-ball 45 in support.

Wickham took 2-54 from his 10 overs for the Academy.

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick says England are “feeling the heat” of their World Cup implosion.

England arrived in India as defending champions but are on course to leave with their tail between their legs after losing four of their first five games.

The all-conquering hosts are next up in Lucknow on Sunday – on paper their toughest assignment of all – and another loss would represent England’s worst-ever sequence at the tournament.

The question marks are piling up with every disappointing result, with team selection, tactics and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s structural commitment to the 50-over game all under scrutiny.

Captain Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott have both been forced to defend their positions and Trescothick made it clear the situation was taking its toll.

“We’ve just not been matching up to the levels we expect and of course it’s disappointing,” he said.

“We’re all feeling it. We’re all feeling the heat. It’s challenging for everyone.

“But what can you do? We prepared the same. Every practice we go through, we’re coming out the other side thinking we’re in a good place and feeling quite right.

“But it’s just not quite worked when we’ve gone into the games.”

The drop off in performance from a side who became the most feared white-ball side in the world on their way to the 2019 title has been so stark, there have been suggestions about England’s motivation to climb the mountain once more.

Asked if England had simply lost interest in the 50-over format, sidetracked by T20 and the ‘Bazball’ revolution in the Test arena, Trescothick resisted.

“Forgive me, I don’t want to be blunt here, but we haven’t lost faith in what it is,” he responded.

“I can’t really say too much more. We love playing any form of cricket, any form of the game that we play.

“We were desperate to come here and try and win back-to-back 50-over competitions. So, we’re still very much focused on all formats of the game.”

Lining up against India at their home can be a daunting experience at the best of times and doing so while devoid of confidence and form only makes matters worse.

Rohit Sharma’s side bring a 100 per cent record into the match and are likely to be aided by a highly partisan crowd and, if local reports on the ground are to be believed, a helpful turning pitch.

But Trescothick hopes to see England thrive under adversity.

“I think playing against India in a World Cup in their own country is a special part of the game,” he said.

“You know there’ll be a big crowd and there’ll be a wonderful occasion. The atmosphere is going to be electric.”

England will surely consider bringing Harry Brook back into their under-performing batting line-up after surprisingly dropping him last time out, while Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran and the recently-arrived Brydon Carse all stand by to help refresh the bowling stocks.

There will be some temptation to play all three in an overt act of adding a more youthful sheen to an ageing outfit, but England may exert more restraint given the size of the task ahead against the likes of Rohit and Virat Kohli.

The Jamaica Scorpions horrible run of form in the 2023 CG United Insurance Super50 Competition was further extended on Friday after they were crushed by 121 runs (D/L) by the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St Augustine, Trinidad.

Demario Richards, Johann Jeremiah and Kedeem Alleyne each score a half century as the CCC racked up 320-7 from their 50 overs. Needing 321 for victory, the Scorpions were bundled out for 198 in just 32.4 overs.

Once again it was the spinners that proved to be the bane of the Scorpions, sharing eight wickets between them as the Scorpions plunged to their fourth consecutive defeat.

Romario Greaves led the CCC bowling with 4-51 while Akshaya Persaud (2-25) and Abhijai Mansingh (2-55) aided in the destruction of the Scorpions batting line up.

Chadwick Walton fought bravely for his 50 from 35 balls with Odean Smith, who scored 35 and Brad Barnes 31 ensured that the defeat was not much worse. Jamaica’s big three of Rovman Powell, Jermaine Blackwood and Nkrumah Bonner, all failed to deliver, producing scores of two, 22 and nought, respectively.

Batting first, Richards top-scored with 71 against the toothless Jamaican attack that saw opener Jeremiah scoring 56 and Alleyne 51 to lay the foundation for their match-winning total. The CCC also got useful contributions from Jordan Johnson, who contributed 41 and Shane Dowrich, who scored 32.

Bowling for the Scorpions, Odean Smith took 3-28 and was the only bowler who bowled with any venom.

Sir Geoffrey Boycott criticised England’s lack of preparation for their continuing World Cup woes but spared captain Jos Buttler of the bulk of the blame.

Buttler accepted his future was out of his own hands as England crashed to an eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, which has left the defence of their title hanging by the thinnest of threads.

Head coach Matthew Mott has written off England’s chances after four defeats in five games, which Boycott argued was the result of turning up in India just over a week before the campaign began.

“History shows that England rarely bat well in India where the ball spins,” Boycott told the Daily Telegraph. “Our guys are okay on flat pitches but if it turns they have a problem.

“The best way to try and overcome that would have been for our squad of players to get to India early and play four or five warm-up matches. What did England do? Plan only two warm-up games with one getting rained off. Not smart planning.”

England brought eight of the 2019 trophy-winning side with them to the subcontinent but Buttler has been unable to get the best out of his charges – as Eoin Morgan spectacularly did four years ago.

But Boycott feels the unflattering comparisons between the duo are unfair, pointing out Morgan had home comforts plus a fully-focused and healthy side in peak form whereas Buttler has had several obstacles to contend with.

Boycott said Jofra Archer’s non-availability and Ben Stokes being ruled out of the first three matches through an ill-timed hip problem complicated matters for Buttler.

“Jos has a dysfunctional squad of players,” the England great added. “Poorly selected, poorly prepared, not a settled team, many not sure of their roles, patchy form, confidence wobbly and to cap it all England’s best two and most influential white-ball players have not been available.

“Although Buttler has admitted his own flaws this tournament, too many people are criticising his captaincy and judging him against that of Eoin Morgan when England won the previous World Cup.

“Make no mistake, not having Archer is huge alongside Stokes not being available through injury for the first three matches. Reece Topley has now had to go home injured.

“It is easy captaining a good team full of in-form players but it would need a miracle man to pull this team together. Buttler can’t admit it, but it must be a nightmare.”

A superb all-round performance from Yanic Cariah inspired Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to a three-wicket victory over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in their CG United Insurance Super50 Cup encounter at the Brian Lara Academy on Thursday.

Cariah took five wickets in the Leewards’ innings of 198 and then scored an unbeaten 45 as Trinidad and Tobago reached their target of 199 for the loss of seven wickets but with 26 balls to spare.

Batting first, Leewards got solid starts from their openers Kieran Powell and Justin Greaves. Powell would make 75 from just 48 balls with five fours and six sixes while Greaves compiled 58 from 71 balls. However, it would all fall apart soon thereafter.

Cariah dismissed both openers and the rest of the batting offered little resistance. Jahmar Hamilton (18) and Hayden Walsh Jr (15) were the only other batters in double figures as Cariah finished with the admirable figures of 5-48 from his 10 overs.

 Sunil Narine took 3-30 while Terrance Hinds claimed 2-24 from his four overs as Leewards collapsed to 198 all out in 37.2 overs.

Trinidad lost three wickets early to the bowling of Alzarri Joseph, who took 3-45 and when Kofi James dismissed Kjorn Ottley for nine, Trinidad were in a spot of bother. However, Jason Mohammed helped cauterize the rot with 41, despite Walsh’s bowling efforts which saw him take 3-32.

Cariah’s patient knock of 45 not out from 102 balls put Trinidad back on a path to victory and he got help from Hinds, who scored a solid 21 and Narine who smashed 33 from just 16 balls to get the Red Force over the line in 45.4 overs.

Jos Buttler accepted his future as England captain was out of his hands after another painful defeat sent his side tumbling towards the World Cup exit door.

England knew nothing less than victory over Sri Lanka would be enough to keep alive their fading hopes of reaching the semi-finals and they responded with arguably their worst performance yet in a campaign littered with low points.

After choosing to bat first, they were skittled for a meagre 156 in 33.2 overs, then watched as their opponents cantered home by eight wickets in Bangalore with almost half of the innings unused.

The thrashing, which followed heavy losses to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa, left the reigning champions ninth in the standings with an eye-watering net run-rate.

With four games to go – including table-topping India and bitter rivals Australia – they are being kept off bottom spot by the only associate nation at the competition, the Netherlands.

Remarkably, England are not yet mathematically out with four games to play, but the route is fanciful in the extreme and Buttler acknowledged the game was up.

“It certainly looks that way and that’s incredibly disappointing. It would need a few miracles,” he said, glassy-eyed after another draining day.

“You get on the plane with high hopes and a lot of confidence and belief that we can challenge for the title, so to be sat here now with the three weeks we’ve had is a shock. It’s a shock to everyone.

“I’ll walk back in the dressing room after this, look at the players sat there and think ‘how have we found ourselves in this position with the talent and the skill that’s in the room’?

“But it is the position we’re in, it’s the reality of what’s happened over the last three weeks and that’s a huge low point.”

Pressed on his own status in charge of the side Buttler indicated a desire to continue but a realisation that the verdict may not be his to make.

In reality, England do not have an obvious successor lined up and Buttler is relatively new in the role, having inherited the mantle following Eoin Morgan’s retirement last summer.

He also has a T20 World Cup win in the bank and there has been no indication that managing director of the men’s cricket, Rob Key, has an itchy trigger finger.

“I think you’re always questioning as captain how you can get the best out of players, how you can get the team moving in the right direction,” Buttler admitted.

“I certainly have a lot of confidence and belief in myself as a leader and captain and first and foremost as a player, but if you’re asking if I should still be captaining the team, that’s a question for the guys above me.

“The tournament’s gone nowhere near the way we wanted it to…that much is obvious. As a leader, you want to lead through your own performance and I’ve not been able to do that.”

Head coach Matthew Mott joined Buttler in writing off the chances of sneaking through to the last four, telling BBC Sport: “Yeah, it’s over now, I think.

“I’m not a mathematician, but with our net run-rate and too many teams who are going to take games off each other, we have to come to terms with that. From now we’re playing for a lot of pride.

“We feel like we’ve let our fans down, our families and supporters and everyone in that dressing room, we haven’t put our best foot forward and in professional sport, that’s what you’re judged on.”

England’s excruciating World Cup defence was all but over after yet another shambolic defeat, this time against a Sri Lanka side led by their former head coach Chris Silverwood.

The 2019 champions turned in a meek, error-strewn performance with the bat, blown away for just 156 in Bengaluru, and barely fared any better with the ball as their opponents breezed home by eight wickets.

Jos Buttler’s side have now lost four of their five games by heavy margins – beaten by New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa and now Sri Lanka – and can start booking an early trip home despite having four fixtures still to play in a torturous group stage.

There was an extra layer to their latest humbling given Silverwood’s presence in blue and gold. He served as England’s bowling coach when they lifted the trophy four years ago and was handpicked to take over the top job from Trevor Bayliss soon after.

Silverwood was sacked after a dire Ashes campaign in 2021/22 and now, rather than guiding his country through this tournament as he once expected, he has effectively sealed their departure from it.

A scrappy 43 from Ben Stokes was the best England could muster and that was promptly put in perspective as Pathum Nissanka (77 not out) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65no) peeled off an effortless century stand in response.

In all England used just 33.2 overs in the first innings and 25.4 in the second, a damning indictment on all fronts.

The day started with the latest confusing selection from England, who dropped rising star Harry Brook and rookie seamer Gus Atkinson as they fielded a side comprised entirely of thirtysomethings for the first time ever in ODI cricket.

It proved a thoroughly misguided decision from a team long past its peak. With a dominant, table-topping India up next in Lucknow, it is hard to see what they do next.

Things began with a brief burst of positivity, openers Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow taming the new ball sufficiently to take 45 from the first 39 deliveries, with nine boundaries.

But the growing optimism was shattered by the introduction of old foe Angelo Mathews, called up as an injury replacement just a couple of days ago and embarking on his first ODI spell in three-and-a-half years.

It took the 36-year-old just three deliveries to get back in the groove, Malan caught behind for 28 chasing a cutter. Mathews, who starred when Sri Lanka beat England at Headingley in the 2019 group stages, was involved again in the crucial dismissal of Joe Root.

Root had just three to his name when he chopped to point and set off for a single, turning on his heels once Bairstow dug his in at the non-striker’s end. Mathews picked up and threw in one swift movement, leaving Kusal Mendis to obliterate the stumps as Root dived in vain.

The errors kept coming, Bairstow reaching 30 before a cross-batted swat at Kasun Rajitha plonked straight to mid-on. Stokes dug a trench as he tried to halt the Sri Lankan momentum, but his rearguard was undermined as Lahiru Kumara had Buttler flashing to slip and Liam Livingstone lbw.

With just 17 overs down they were 85 for five and circling the drain. Stokes went on the attack, muscling a handful of boundaries despite struggling for timing, but lost two more partners as Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes spoon-fed catches to backward point.

When Stokes dragged a pull down deep-midwicket’s throat, England’s hopes of an unlikely revival went with him, but there was another nadir still to come.

Adil Rashid was backing up at the bowler’s end when Mendis took a Maheesh Theekshana wide down the leg side, spotted the chance of an opportunistic dismissal and threw down the stumps from 25 yards.

It was an absurd way to go and entirely in keeping with England’s demeanour over the past month. Theekshana had Wood stumped to complete the job, putting Sri Lanka in complete control.

David Willey had hit England’s only six of the innings and finished not out on the ground he calls home with Royal Challengers Bangalore and he started gamely with the ball too.

The left-armer had Kusal Perera caught off a leading edge with his third ball and added the dangerous Mendis, who chipped a leg-stump delivery high in the sky towards Buttler.

At 23 for two there was a tiny opening, but Samarawickrama and Nissanka closed it emphatically. They knocked off the runs in a composed manner, even soaking up a rapid spell that touched 94mph from Wood.

The pair stroked the ball around with minimal fuss as the bowlers went through the motions, with Nissanka sealing victory in style by slamming the expensive Rashid for a big six over long-on to put England out of their misery.

They are now on course for a World Cup campaign even worse than their low ebb of 2015, a fate barely imaginable when Eoin Morgan lifted the trophy at Lord’s in heady scenes four years later.

Rashada Williams scored a match-high 71 to lead the West Indies Women ‘A’ to a three-wicket victory over Pakistan in Lahore on Thursday. Chasing 189 for victory after Pakistan Women ‘A’ had scored 188-9 from their 50 overs, West Indies Women achieved the target with a ball to spare.

The tourists won the toss and put the hosts into bat. Pakistan achieved their score on the back of 50 by Sidra Nawaz and scores of 32 and 25 by Shawaal Zulfiqar and Eyman Fatima, respectively.

Ashmini Munisar’s off-spin proved instrumental for the West Indies taking 3-21 from her 10-over allotment with Qiana Joseph proving a worthwhile back-up with 2-30.

Williams got her 71 from 94 balls for the West Indies with Shabika Gajnabi scoring 25 and Zaida James weighing in with a patient 23 from 57 balls to help steer the tourists to victory and levelling the series at a game apiece.

Left-arm spin bowler Anosha Nasir took 3-36 in a valiant effort for Pakistan.

Former England captain Michael Atherton said the current one-day side could be “at the end of the cycle” after another poor batting display at the World Cup.

England won the toss and elected to bat in a must-win group game against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, but collapsed to 156 all out with nearly seven overs remaining.

Jos Buttler’s side never looked capable of mounting an imposing target despite Moeen Ali’s pre-match assertion that England would play aggressive cricket with no fear.

Sky Sports pundit Atherton said: “It’s all very saying what you want to do when you’re struggling and down on confidence, it’s not always easy to put those fine words and aspirations into practice.

“We’ve all been there in teams that are low on confidence and are struggling. No team has a divine right to be at the top of its game all the time.”

Ben Stokes (43) and openers Jonny Bairstow (30) and Dawid Malan (28) were the only batters to make any impression as wickets fell at regular intervals against a Sri Lanka side who had also won only one of their first four matches.

Atherton added: “We’ve looked at the factors over the last five games of this competition, but if you look a bit deeper you could argue this is a team at the end of the cycle.

“You could argue that the lack of 50-over cricket and the lack of England’s ability to put what they consider to be their best one-day team in 50-over cricket has camouflaged some of the weaknesses and decline that we’ve seen.

“It’s all come together in the performances we’ve seen in Mumbai over the last couple of days and this one here in Bengaluru today.”

England’s excruciating World Cup campaign took another turn for the worse as they slumped to 156 all out in their must-win match against Chris Silverwood’s Sri Lanka.

Knowing defeat in Bengaluru would leave them with one win in five and end any realistic hope of reaching the semi-finals, they batted calamitously and were rounded up in just 33.2 overs of self-inflicted pain.

Ben Stokes top-scored with 43 but even he barely laid a glove on the opposition, looking short of fluency throughout a 73-ball stay. Six players were dismissed in single figures, with Adil Rashid’s comical run out at the non-striker’s end summing up a shoddy performance.

England’s increasingly confusing selection continued as they dropped rising star Harry Brook, leaving them with a conspicuously ageing side comprised entirely of thirtysomethings for the first time ever in one-day cricket.

With up-and-coming seamer Gus Atkinson also benched, Liam Livingstone – who turned 30 in August – was youngest player on the teamsheet and they batted like a side long past their peak.

They now face the embarrassment of being ousted from the tournament they won four years ago by Silverwood, the man who was supposed to lead England in India before being sacked after the Ashes debacle of 2021/22.

Half-centuries from Teddy Bishop and Leonardo Julien led West Indies Academy to a six-wicket victory (D/L) over Jamaica Scorpions in the CG United Insurance Super 50 Competition at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Wednesday.

Set a winning target of 264 after the Scorpions made 263-9 from their 50 overs, West Indies Academy scored 227-4 from 37.3 overs when rain interrupted play. It was the third straight loss for Jamaica who remain at the bottom of the table.

When rain stopped play Bishop was unbeaten on 67 from 67 balls. He hit three fours and two sixes in his knock that swung the match heavily in favour of the West Indies Academy. Julien also played a crucial role in the win with his 52 from 48 balls while Kevin Wickham contributed a useful 37.

Pace bowler Shalome Parnell was the best of the Scorpions’ bowlers with 2-43.

Earlier, Kirk McKenzie scored a match-high 84 and Captain Rovman Powell, 53, as the Jamaica Scorpions put together an under-par score of 263-7.  Opener Chadwick Walton (17), Andre McCarthy (15) and Jeavor Royal (27) all got starts but failed to capitalize against the bowling of Nyeem Young who was the standout bowler taking 5-49.

McKenny Clarke took 2-27.

Both Guyana Harpy Eagles and Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) would feel hard done, as rain forced a no-result in their CG United Super50 Cup at the Frank Worrell Memorial Ground on Wednesday.

The contest, which saw the Harpy Eagles posting a paltry 177, was evenly poised to go either way, as CCC's reply was at 86-5 when the heavens opened. 

Prior to the weather, Tevin Imlach led the Harpy Eagles batting with a well-played 80 off 105 balls. His knock included four boundaries and a six, while Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the next best scorer with 30. Akshaya Persaud, 2-23 and Shatrughan Rambaran, 2-27, were the pick of the CCC bowlers.

CCC in their turn at bat, also found the going tough, with the aggressive Kadeem Alleyne being the only batsman to show any real resistance at that point.

Alleyne struck five sixes and two fours in a 27-ball 47. Kevin Sinclair, 3-39, did the damage for Harpy Eagles.

Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 177 all out (48.1 overs); CCC 86-5 (15 overs)

Moeen Ali is planning to bring the fun factor back to England’s World Cup campaign after realising the defending champions have “lost the enjoyment” in India.

Moeen is set to return to the side for Thursday’s must-win match against Sri Lanka after being confined to drinks duties for the past three games, during which time things have gone from bad to worse for the 2019 winners.

Despite being left on the sidelines, Moeen remains the squad’s designated vice-captain and has watched and learned from crushing defeats to Afghanistan and South Africa that have left ninth-placed England with the narrowest of paths to the semi-finals.

His conclusions are clear: the team have become too anxious, too rigid and too fearful. The smiles have gone and the 36-year-old has made it his mission to bring them back at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, once his IPL home with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“When you sit out sometimes, you can see things that you don’t see when you’re playing,” he said.

“You can see from the outside that we’ve probably lost the enjoyment. We haven’t enjoyed it as a team as much, because we’ve been losing and we’re not playing that well.

“That spark is missing, that thing where they’re enjoying taking bowlers down, enjoying going out to bat.

“I think we’re probably taking it too seriously in certain ways. I think sometimes we can probably get a bit anxious. It’s almost having that carefree kind of attitude – ‘Who cares? It’s a game of cricket’.

“You’re going to make mistakes, you might as well make them doing what you’re good at. We’re making mistakes anyway, so let’s do it with a smile on your face.

“If I get my chance, I’m going to use all that intent that I have. Take it on. I’m going to take the situation out a lot of the time and just enjoy it as much as I can.”

Moeen has been stung by his extended absence from the XI, which sits at odds with his role as a key sounding board for captain Jos Buttler and his calming influence on the field has been a loss.

“Speaking to a few of the players, they’ve certainly said that they’re miss having me at mid-off or whatever,” said Moeen.

“I think I can try and hopefully bring a bit of help maybe for Jos, being at mid-off a lot of the time with the bowlers, because it’s not always that easy for a wicketkeeper to communicate.

“It’s hard for me to say. That’s the hardest bit…when Jos asks me what I think of the side and I don’t put myself in or if I do put myself in. You try and do what’s best for the team as much as you can.”

The man plotting England’s downfall this time around is Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood, a man who once thought he would be leading their title defence.

Silverwood was England’s fast bowling coach they won the tournament in 2019 and stepped into the top job soon after when he was chosen to succeed Trevor Bayliss.

But his reign came to an ignominious end when he was sacked after the 2021/22 Ashes debacle, with England subsequently opting to split the job between red and white-ball specialists.

England have already been bested by one of their own in India, with former batter Jonathan Trott guiding Afghanistan to a shock win in Delhi, and are aware of the extra layer of intrigue created by Silverwood’s appearance in the opposition dugout.

“I’m sure he’s got that motivation to do well in this game, definitely,” said Moeen.

“They’ve only won once, so they’ll want to get on a winning run as well and he’ll be thinking more about that and his own team.

“But I’m sure deep down, like everybody else, he’ll be trying to prove a point or whatever it is and that will motivate him a little bit more.

“He’s a good coach and a nice guy, and I enjoyed (working with) him. But he’s not the one going out to bat and bowl, it’s his team. He’ll be trying to get them ready.”

England radically altered the balance of their side against the Proteas, banishing their core of all-rounders in favour of their top six batters and five specialist bowlers.

A 229-run thrashing is likely to see that formula banished, with Moeen and Chris Woakes both pencilled in to return in place of the injured Reece Topley and Gus Atkinson. Sam Curran is also vying for one place with David Willey.

Topley’s injury replacement, Brydon Carse trained for the first time on Wednesday afternoon but will not be considered at this stage.

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews knows exactly what it takes to beat England at a World Cup and the veteran batter is promising to “fight fire with fire” when the sides meet in Bengaluru.

Mathews has only been an official part of the squad for 24 hours, called up as an injury replacement for Matheesha Pathirana after being left out of the original line-up, but goes straight into the side on Thursday.

The 35-year-old brings bundles of hard-bitten experience with him, including a few memorable tussles with England over the years.

There have been Test centuries at Lord’s, Headingley and Galle, as well as a brilliant knock in a losing cause in the T20 World Cup of 2016.

But most relevant to the task at hand was the dogged 85 not out in Leeds four years ago, a match-winning effort that threatened to derail what became a triumphant tournament for Eoin Morgan’s men.

Neither team can afford to lose at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this time, leaving Mathews ready for a high-octane affair.

“We have to fight fire with fire because we know they will come really hard at us,” he said.

“Obviously we have to play our ‘A’ game against a very strong England team. Even though they haven’t played to their potential they are a very dangerous team.

“We know their brand of cricket is all about being positive; if you take a backward step they are going to jump all over you and take the advantage. They can hurt us badly if we are complacent.”

Mathews also made it clear the expertise and inside knowledge of former England head coach Chris Silverwood, who now sits in their dressing room, has not gone to waste.

“Chris knows most of their players in and out, we’ve had discussions about their team as well,” he said.

Moeen Ali believes former England coach Chris Silverwood will be keen to “prove a point” with his Sri Lanka side in Thursday’s World Cup clash in Bengaluru.

Silverwood was England’s fast bowling coach they won the tournament in 2019 and expected to be the man in charge of the title defence when he was chosen to succeed Trevor Bayliss in the top job.

But his reign came to an ignominious end when he was sacked after the 2021/22 Ashes debacle, with England subsequently opting to split the job between red and white-ball specialists.

Silverwood made a quick return to international cricket with Sri Lanka and faces his old charges in a game that both nations need to win to maintain any realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages.

England have already been bested by one of their own in India, with former batter Jonathan Trott guiding Afghanistan to a shock win in Delhi, and are aware of the extra layer of intrigue created by Silverwood’s appearance in the opposition dugout.

“I’m sure he’s got that motivation to do well in this game, definitely,” said Moeen.

“They’ve only won once, so they’ll want to get on a winning run as well and he’ll be thinking more about that and his own team.

“But I’m sure deep down, like everybody else, he’ll be trying to prove a point or whatever it is and that will motivate him a little bit more.

“He’s a good coach and a nice guy, and I enjoyed (working with) him. But he’s not the one going out to bat and bowl, it’s his team. He’ll be trying to get them ready.”

Moeen is heading into the game with some some additional motivation of his own, having been confined to a watching brief since the opening match of the tournament.

Despite being the squad’s nominated vice-captain, the 36-year-old was dropped after the nine-wicket thrashing by New Zealand and has now missed three in a row.

Things have hardly improved in his absence and, after England’s heaviest ever ODI defeat at the hands of South Africa last time out, he is odds-on to return in a city he once called home during his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“It’s been very frustrating, obviously, because you want to play and make some sort of difference,” he said of his stint on the bench.

“It’s difficult when you’re not winning and then when you’re not playing on top of that, it’s hard. I’m hoping to play and get a chance to perform.

“It’s one of those grounds where scoring is quick and batting deep makes a big difference. If I get the nod, then I’m really looking forward to playing. I’ve played franchise cricket here and it’s a great place to play, a great venue. I’m be pretty excited.”

England radically altered the balance of their side against the Proteas, banishing their core of all-rounders in favour of their top six batters and five specialist bowlers.

A 229-run thrashing is likely to see that formula banished. Three changes are possible, with Reece Topley having flown home with a broken finger and Gus Atkinson and David Willey both vulnerable. Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone would be favourites to return alongside Moeen.

Topley’s injury replacement, Brydon Carse, has arrived in the country and trained for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.