Eoin Morgan lamented the lack of home advantage afforded to his England team in Cardiff after they crashed out of the Champions Trophy following a shock semi-final defeat to Pakistan.
With Pakistan making it into the finals of the tournament everyone is waiting for India to play them as they will be defending their title against a team who will be playing their first final.
"I think, going into today's game knowing that we were going to play on a used wicket potentially brought Pakistan's game closer to their home (conditions)".
When he was asked as to how Pakistan managed to score on the same surface that England had managed just 211, Morgan said, "I think the explanation is they played two days ago on it". We did prepare like we were going to play on a used wicket.
When asked how Pakistan managed to score at 5.7 runs an over on the same surface that England had managed just 211 on in nearly 50 overs, Morgan replied: "I think the explanation is they played two days ago on it". "They adjusted to conditions extremely well", said Morgan.
Morgan, however, did give credit to Pakistan for their victory, especially their bowlers.
Pakistan has now reached the final of the tournament, where they will play against the victor of the second semi-final of the tournament between India and Bangladesh. Then Hasan came in, and he took wicket. Finishing third or fourth, I think that's about right where we sit in world cricket at the moment [they are ranked fourth].
Earlier, Hasan Ali took 3-35 as Pakistan won the toss and bowled out a badly misfiring England.
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"Coming from Edgbaston which was a good wicket to a used wicket, we didn't adapt very well".
15 Number of boundaries hit by England - their fewest in a completed innings since the 2015 World Cup. "The team management also kept motivating us".
On the prospect of a rematch with India in the final, Sarfraz smiled and said: "Best of luck to both of them".
"We're going to London!" chanted one Pakistani supporter as he made his way out of the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff after the match.
The basic flaw is that England's one-day team is very good at hitting rather than batting; and the particular Achilles heel in this Champions Trophy was their opening partnership.
"We just motivated the guys - "don't worry about the India match, it's gone ... if we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament".
Hasan Ali celebrates after dismissing Eoin Morgan for 33 runs.
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