Eoin Morgan's side made just 134-8 while losing first T20I
Saturday 20 February 2016 11:37, UK
England need to be 'smarter' with the bat as they continue to grow as a limited-overs side, says Nasser Hussain.
Eoin Morgan's side posted just 134-8 at in the first T20I against South Africa at Newlands, despite being positioned handsomely on 52-1 in the seventh over of their innings.
The Proteas only secured victory off the final ball of the match when Reece Topley fumbled a run-out opportunity, but Hussain insists the seamer's error was not the reason for England's defeat, which followed a 3-2 loss in the preceding ODI series.
"Topley will be absolutely distraught - but it wasn't his fault England lost that game," Hussain told Sky Sports, after the tourists shipped five wickets for 29 runs in the middle overs. "The damage was done a lot earlier.
"England are little gung-ho with the bat at the moment - in the last three or four games of white-ball cricket they have not worked out what a good score is.
"I think you have to give them a little bit of leeway, tell them to continue with this free spirit for a while, and hope they realise they have to be a bit smarter.
"[Captain] Eoin Morgan and [coach] Trevor Bayliss are very rarely critical of England's batting as they don't want any doubts about whether what they are doing is the right thing and don't want the players to worry about the stats heading into the World T20."
Hussain, though, saluted England's bowlers for the way they set about trying to defend 134, including Ben Stokes, who took 1-19 in the middle overs and Chris Jordan, who returned career-best figures of 3-23.
"The bowling was brilliant," added the former England skipper. "Topley bowled well at the start, Stokes was magnificent when the game was going away from them and Jordan, who was lifted by Stokes, proved why he is in the side with his yorkers.
"The spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, were excellent and the attitude in the field was outstanding, so they deserved Topley to get that stumping chance at the end.
"England were in a game they should never have been in - South Africa captain Faf du Plessis says his team dodged a bullet - but they messed it up in the last nine or 10 deliveries."
Will England level the series in Johannesburg on Sunday? Find out from 12pm on Sky Sports 2. The game follows South Africa Women and England Women's deciding T20I, which is live at 7.55am on the same channel.
