Captain Strauss puzzled by reasons for England's woes in shocking World Cup defeat to Ireland

By Raja Rai Fahim Abid

CHENNAI, India — England captain Andrew Strauss knows full well that England's sensational World Cup defeat by Ireland was down to sloppy fielding and wayward bowling.
What he doesn't know is why things are going so badly wrong in those departments.
The batsmen continued their free-scoring form with 327-8 on Wednesday to take their tally to 961 in three tournament matches, but England then dropped four catches and gifted Kevin O'Brien enough poor deliveries for him to hit the quickest ever World Cup century and drive Ireland to an improbable victory.
Some commentators suggested that fatigue was an issue after most of the 15-man squad were on a 3 1/2-month tour to Australia that ended only days before the team flew out to the subcontinent for the World Cup, though Strauss dismissed this as a reason.
But England was lauded for its discipline with the ball and in the field in winning the Ashes, so that just suggests there are reasons elsewhere.
"I wouldn't say they're tired," Strauss said. "Wickets have been very flat and we've easily got 300 runs in two games. We don't want to be hemorrhaging both sides of the wicket and chasing our tail too much, which we have done in the last few matches and need to improve.
"It's a World Cup and there's pressure everywhere. That's the way it should be in a World Cup."
That pressure could be huge against South Africa in Chennai on Sunday. England needs to start winning in Group B or risk a humiliating first-round exit while Ireland or Bangladesh advances to the quarterfinals instead.
Only spinner Graeme Swann and, briefly, seamer Tim Bresnan looked capable of a breakthrough against Ireland in Bangalore.
But O'Brien hit huge sixes to all corners of Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium as England's bowling disintegrated once Swann's 10 overs were completed. O'Brien reached his hundred off just 50 balls — shattering Matthew Hayden's 66-ball record set in 2007 — and eventually made 113.
"Our bowling could have been better," said Strauss with remarkable understatement. "We got taken by surprise there and we can't afford to give away those kind of chances here.
"They are very flat wickets and we were asking for trouble."
Despite a 6-1 defeat in the one-day series that followed the Ashes series, England was hoping that as injuries cleared up and the tournament progressed, performances would more accurately reflect the talent in the squad.
After all, England did win last year's World Twenty20 and beat Australia 3-1 in the Ashes.
Instead, just about everything other than the batting has gone wrong. The Netherlands racked up 292-6 in what was meant to be a straightforward opening win for England, which eventually crossed the line with just eight balls remaining, and India made it to 338 all out before England salvaged a remarkable tie.
Stuart Broad and James Anderson have bowled short and wide on good scoring pitches, while Bresnan has looked like the only paceman likely to take wickets.
"It's been bitterly disappointing for us," Strauss said. "We were thinking we were getting some momentum after the India game. We're not out of the World Cup by any means but we need to be better than we were yesterday.
"The game coming up against South Africa is a huge one for us and generally we bounce back well from defeats. We need to be honest with each other."

England's captain Andrew Strauss reacts as he leaves the ground after their loss to Ireland during the Cricket World Cup Group B match between England and Ireland in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, March 2, 2011.

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Raja Rai Fahim Abid