England fans have made their feelings clear, with some calling the side’s performance an embarrassment after they narrowly avoided defeat against Nepal in their opening match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Mumbai.
What many thought would be a routine victory for the two-time tournament winners quickly turned into a nail-biting affair, which saw Nepal lose by just four runs.
Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Will Jacks helped England to a decent score of 184, scoring 55, 53 and 39 not out respectively.
However, unexpectedly, the Asian nation, who are competing at just their third T20 World Cup, dug in and dealt with top-class bowlers such as Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer and Luke Wood with all three going for more than 10 runs per over.
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Lokesh Bam’s 39 not out from 20 balls almost secured a historic victory for Nepal, but Sam Curran’s expert bowling in the final over prevented Brendon McCullum and Brook from yet another embarrassment after the recent 4-1 Ashes series defeat in Australia over the winter.
And despite securing the win, supporters did not hold back when giving their assessment of England’s performance on social media.
One said: “England are dreadful at every format in cricket. This will be the most embarrassing defeat suffered by any major nation at any level in any sport [if they lose].”
Another added: “I do not care if we won, get Brendon McCullum as far away from English cricket as possible.”
A third claimed: “How is Baz still our coach baffles me. Curran saved our asses in that last over."
Meanwhile, others slammed Archer’s performance, with the Sussex fast bowler certainly not showing his best form during the match.
One fan suggested: “Please remove Jofra Archer.”
Another fumed: “I don’t care what anyone says. Jofra Archer is the most overrated player I’ve ever known”
As a third cursed: “My word, get the ball out of Jofra Archer’s hands now.”
A fourth claimed: "Jofra Archer is the most overrated bowler I have ever seen."
Archer conceded 22 runs in the 18th over before Wood and Curran held their nerve in the final two overs to secure a narrow win for England.
England return to action against the West Indies in Mumbai on Wednesday (February 11) before taking on Scotland in Kolkata on Saturday (February 14).
Topics: Cricket
Luke Davies