Chittagong, Mar 12 : Unfazed England cricket captain Andrew Strauss insists that the shock loss to Bangladesh has not derailed his team's World Cup campaign even though there is real risk of early elimination hovering over it.
England lost by two wickets to Bangladesh in a Group B match last night, the second embarrassment of the event for Strauss' men after the five-wicket defeat at the hands of minnows Ireland.
But an optimistic Strauss said it doesn't take much time to get back the rhythm.
"World Cups are funny things. You can gain confidence just at the right moment, and get in a real run of form just when you need it," Strauss said.
"We still haven't had a game where our batting and bowling fire at the same time, but we need to do it in that last game against the West Indies. Clearly we need consistency from now on if we want to progress in the tournament," he added.
Defending a modest 225, England's bowlers were also hampered by the dew factor at the stadium which was hosting its first day-nighter.
Strauss said an event like the World Cup should be staged on tested venues.
"It seems slightly strange to have the first ever day-nighter at a certain ground in a World Cup," he said.
"There was a 20-over period when the dew was very, very bad. Swann could not grip the ball at all and I think there's something not quite right if a spinner can't grip the ball.
"Especially in this part of the world, where spin plays such an important role," he added.
But despite the external factors, 225 was a defendable score.
"We felt 225 was a par score, that we could defend it, and we got ourselves in a great position to do that," he said.
"But in the end we weren't able to take those last two wickets, which is desperately disappointing for us," he added. PTI
