Alex Hartley believes England need to improve their fitness after being knocked out of the T20 World Cup in Dubai.
England were knocked out of the tournament after losing by six wickets to the West Indies in their last match of the group stage on Tuesday, meaning they missed out on a semi-final spot due to net run-rate.
As a result, West Indies topped Group B, and South Africa also joined Group A’s Australia and New Zealand in the final four.
England were restricted to 141 for 7, undone by quick half-centuries from openers Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph, who helped West Indies cruise to the target with two overs remaining.
Sloppy fielding saw Joseph dropped four times en route to reaching 52 off 38 balls, and former England international Hartley, who won the World Cup in 2017, questioned their fitness levels.
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She said on the BBC’s Test Match Special: “There will be a lot of questions. Some of it is, of course, about fitness. England need to get fitter.
“There are 15 or 16 real athletes in Australia. They have the world’s best leg-spinner in Amanda-Jade Wellington, but she is no longer in the team due to lack of fitness. She doesn’t work hard enough.
“If you look at our team, I won’t mention any names. But you’ll know it when you see it. You can tell who’s blowing a gasket and who’s not.
“Eighty per cent of the England team are fit and athletic, but there are girls in that team who let the team down when it comes to their fitness.”
England were in trouble early on as they were 3 for 34 in the seventh over, but Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight got them back into the game.
Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten 57, but England suffered a major blow when skipper Knight suffered a calf injury on the 21st and was unable to field.
A brilliant West Indies batting led by Matthews and Joseph saw them reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2018.
change is needed
England coach John Lewis has now led two T20 World Cups, his first being the 2023 tournament in South Africa, where his side lost to the hosts in the semi-finals.
England’s next big Test is against Australia in the Women’s Ashes in early 2025 after they tour South Africa in the winter and Hartley has backed Lewis to continue in her role.
“When you haven’t won a World Cup for so long, things have to change,” Hartley added.
“I think last night showed how much England need Heather Knight on the field. She has a calm personality. She wasn’t there and everyone was looking around in confusion.
“Things have to change. I don’t know where change comes from.
“I think John Lewis is the right person for the job. He transformed women’s cricket and made girls realize that they could have a better work-life balance. “It’s unclear whether they potentially went too far in the other direction.”
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