Ashes shock can spur young England batters on: Graham Thorpe

England’s World Cup loss to New Zealand has left a sour taste. One of the main factors is how a young England team were so overawed by the Kiwis after their last-gasp victory over Australia that they failed to take the opportunity to assert themselves.

There is no shortage of evidence that they have the talent to beat the big teams on their own backyard, in the limited-overs formats or even at a test level. It was only a question of harnessing that talent to beat the best.

But rather than doing what it takes to win, the England players panicked and failed to put their bodies in the way to fight their way out of trouble.

Now they face India on their home soil this weekend in a World Cup semi-final.

For all the disappointment of the Australia defeat, England should have done better against New Zealand