World Cup 2023: Eoin Morgan says England will take 'bazball' approach to next level after 9-wicket defeat

World Cup 2023: After New Zealand defeated England by nine wickets in the World Cup 2023 opener on Thursday, October 5, Eoin Morgan said that the defending champions were not going to retract from their defensive approach.

Eoin Morgan, the captain of England's 2019 World Cup-winning team, said playing aggressive cricket is the best option for England going forward, adding that Jos Buttler will ask his boys to take the 'bazball' approach to the next level.

"From an English perspective, we have come to have a level of expectation in Jos Buttler’s team that regardless of the surface, he wants them to take an aggressive approach. We didn’t see that in a strong enough way and what this defeat does, in dramatic fashion, is emphasise the way to play throughout this World Cup. Their strongest suit going forward is to be more aggressive and I think that will be Jos’ message – 'we need to go harder’," Jos Buttler said.

"One thing is for sure – one defeat will not derail their campaign. Eight of this squad were there in 2019, when we lost three group stage matches on the way to lifting the trophy, and they will definitely lean on that experience. There is no side that goes from start to finish at a World Cup without experiencing some sort of adversity, whether it’s losing games or having hiccups within games themselves. This will be no different," he added.

England at one stage were in a comfortable position, having scored 221 runs for the loss of five wickets in 38.4 overs. However, a batting collapse saw them getting restricted to 282/9 in 50 overs.

World Cup 2023: Still feel England will defend title

Further, Eoin Morgan expressed confidence that the England team will regroup and manage to win the 2023 World Cup title.

"There will be a lot of calm heads in the dressing room, but there will also be a lot of honesty. Having shared a changing room with these guys, all the messages are built on a lot of thought and very rarely are there any flippant comments or people targeted. There is an awareness they are all in this together and collectively all trying to achieve the same plan by sticking to the same process.

"I tipped England to win the competition in the build-up and I still have complete faith. Nothing about today’s performance worries me when it comes to believing they can win the trophy. The advantage of having this format is that one bad day doesn’t ruin your tournament, when previously one bad day could have you home within a week. I still think they can and will win this World Cup," Eoin Morgan said.