England's Dawid Malan on their final game of the ICC Cricket World Cup against Pakistan
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00:00 Go ahead, Rory.
00:01 Hello David, how are you doing?
00:02 Good, thank you.
00:03 Heading into the final game of this campaign, what are your reflections really?
00:09 It's been a pretty productive one for yourself, but you haven't got what you came for.
00:14 Yeah, we haven't.
00:16 You can talk about your personal form or runs or wickets, whatever it is,
00:20 but at the end of the day you want the team to do well and to win games of cricket.
00:24 As a collective, we haven't been good enough.
00:27 The proof is in the pudding, if you want to put it that way.
00:31 We're seventh on the log, which isn't where we'd like to be at this stage of the tournament.
00:35 We'd have hoped to come here pushing for a semi-final spot and preparing for that,
00:41 but we just haven't been good enough.
00:44 Can you talk about the sense of disappointment?
00:47 This is a team that's gone deep in tournaments and been there at those big moments,
00:51 and you're going to be heading home while those big moments are playing out here in India.
00:55 It's an unusual feeling for this team over the last few years.
00:58 Yeah, I think there's massive disappointment and regret from us all
01:02 that we haven't been able to perform as well as we have as a team.
01:05 We'd have loved to have been here at the business end
01:08 and replicated what that fantastic team did in 2019 and what we did in the 2021/20 World Cup.
01:18 But it just hasn't been, and I think as a group, reflecting on it,
01:24 we're extremely disappointed with that.
01:26 And just from a personal level, because your form is good,
01:30 this team in all likelihood will begin the process of breaking up
01:34 and some new blood will be brought in.
01:37 Can you tell us where you're at personally?
01:39 You haven't played as much international cricket or one-day cricket as some of the guys.
01:44 Where's your motivation and hunger at to be part of whatever that next chapter looks like?
01:49 Yeah, I guess I'm in a unique situation, being the second oldest in this team.
01:53 I don't know what my future holds, whether that be my choice or the team's choice.
01:59 After this tournament, I'll probably have a bit of reflection and see where I'm at
02:03 and see what the future holds for me.
02:07 But tomorrow could be the last game of cricket for England for me
02:10 and it could still be the start of another journey.
02:12 Who knows? We'll only find out when the dust settles.
02:19 But if it was your choice, wearing the shirt still means a lot to you?
02:24 Yeah, definitely. Playing for England means everything for me.
02:27 I've made no secret of that.
02:29 I've always wanted to be part of this team and play for England for as long as I can.
02:33 But ultimately, you get to a stage where you have to look a little bit further ahead
02:38 and what's best for the team and what's best for everything else.
02:42 So I guess there's decisions to be made over the next couple of days
02:46 once the dust has settled and we'll see where we end up.
02:50 We'll go to Mel at the front here. Do you want to pass the mic down, Rory, please?
03:00 Diver, just further on that, where do you feel you are in terms of physical and skill-wise
03:09 when it comes to cricket? Do you think you've peaked
03:12 or do you think you can actually be even better than you are at the moment?
03:19 I guess from a physical side, the body's quite sore, I've got to admit.
03:23 It's been quite long. When you're winning games of cricket, it doesn't feel as sore.
03:28 When you're losing, it starts to feel a bit heavy.
03:32 But from a batting point of view, I feel like I'm playing as well as I've ever played.
03:37 I don't think I'm getting worse, if you want to put it that way.
03:41 I've had some quiet moments in the last year or so where I haven't scored as many runs as I'd like,
03:46 but when I have played well, I feel like I'm still as good as I've ever been.
03:50 I guess that desire to keep scoring as many runs as I can is always there.
03:56 It's just whether the body can stay with that.
04:02 If there is a rebuild after this, as it's likely to be,
04:07 do you think you would have something to contribute to a rebuild?
04:11 Yeah, if that's what they want, if they want experience around.
04:16 Someone who's played quite a bit and played in the way that the team wants to play.
04:21 I'd love to still be around and do it, but as I said, when you get to this stage of being the second oldest,
04:29 it's usually them that go first, regardless of results.
04:32 That's part and parcel of the game.
04:35 The end for England.
04:50 Did you expect that sort of disaster end for England?
04:55 No, I don't think any of us did, to be honest.
04:59 I think we're probably as shocked as everyone else that we've not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to.
05:05 I think we're probably as shocked as everyone else that we've not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to.
05:10 I think we're probably as shocked as everyone else that we've not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to.
05:15 I think we're probably as shocked as everyone else that we've not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to.
05:20 We're probably as shocked as everyone else that we've not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to and win games of cricket.
05:28 For whatever reason, we just haven't been good enough, and we need to hold our hands up and take responsibility for that.
05:34 I saw Mo say something that we hadn't seen it coming.
05:38 We'd still been playing good cricket as a team leading up to this,
05:40 so I don't think it was anything that was showing over the last year or something like that.
05:45 We just haven't performed as a group.
05:49 The Afghanistan game, was that the one we played against Afghanistan?
05:52 Yeah, that was disappointing.
05:55 I think if we look back and reflect on that game, we probably let them get maybe 30 runs too many,
05:59 and then with the bat, we just didn't have any meaningful partnerships to be able to combat their spinners on that wicket,
06:06 which was disappointing because when you're chasing 280 or something, even against a really good bowling attack,
06:13 you feel like you're in the game.
06:14 Same with when we played against Australia.
06:16 We felt like we were in the game, and we just didn't get over the line,
06:19 which has probably been a hallmark of our performance this tournament.
06:24 We haven't stayed in games long enough to win them, which has always been a strength of this team,
06:28 is that someone's been there and done the hard yards to put us in a winning position.
06:34 I hope that answers your question.
06:35 Harry Brook, yeah, he's a young player.
06:38 I really feel for him.
06:39 I feel like there's been so much pressure put on his shoulders,
06:42 almost as if he was the saviour of English cricket.
06:46 The poor kid's still learning his way, and he's still trying to find his feet in international cricket and learn his game.
06:51 Hopefully he learns from this as well and from all the pressure that's been put on his shoulders,
06:57 and he can find a way to keep getting better because I think he's an exceptional talent,
07:01 and I can see him playing, and I hope he plays, 100 games for England across all formats of the game.
07:07 With anything, when you fail, no matter who you are, the quicker you learn from that, the better.
07:13 Harry's one of the quickest learners I've seen as a young player,
07:17 and hopefully he can keep learning and hit those heights that we all know he's capable of achieving.
07:23 OK, at the back of the room.
07:25 Hi, David.
07:26 Tomorrow, the defending champions will be up against the team who came into the World Cup as the number one side,
07:33 or probably the second number.
07:34 So what does that tell you about the sport in four years, how things can change, how do you look at this?
07:40 Yeah, definitely. Sport changes quickly.
07:43 It has a way of biting you in the backside.
07:45 It creeps up on you quite quickly, and I guess, especially from our point of view,
07:51 as I've said earlier, we're so disappointed in the fact that we are here playing against Pakistan at Eden Gardens,
07:57 and we're not in the race for it.
07:59 It's disappointing.
08:01 But we still have a lot to play for.
08:03 We still have Champions Trophies, I don't know if we have actually qualified for that or not yet,
08:08 but we still need to put in a good performance and leave with a bit of pride, because it's hurting.
08:14 Gentleman with the wonderful bucket hat just here at the front.
08:18 Yeah, go ahead.
08:21 You want to ask a question?
08:23 No.
08:24 Any more questions then, please?
08:25 Yeah, go ahead at the front here.
08:27 Just wait for the mic.
08:28 Considering that lots of English players are playing here in the Indian Premier League,
08:40 you know our conditions, we get very well.
08:44 Considering that, we are very expecting at least a semi-final for England last year's champions.
08:51 What are the three reasons?
08:52 Three reasons?
08:56 I'm going to have to think now, you've put me under pressure.
08:58 Gosh, three reasons.
09:01 Not enough runs, not enough wickets, whatever else.
09:07 I think that's probably been the most disappointing thing for us,
09:10 is that a lot of our players have had a lot of experience of playing in India and in the subcontinent.
09:15 I guess if you're looking in a hole, we've probably had a lot of our really big players struggle at the same time,
09:24 which very rarely happens in a team.
09:26 Usually everyone dovetails each other and you have guys that are putting on a performance.
09:32 You look at a trophy in general, probably three or four contributions from a player in a trophy,
09:38 or in a franchise, whatever you want to put it, is a good performance.
09:42 I guess we just haven't been consistent enough in putting in match-winning performances as individuals.
09:48 That's all of us involved in that.
09:53 I have no other third reason for you.
09:56 Obviously with the performances, you start questioning your own performances in the last five games,
10:08 with the losses, and also there is focus from outside, from the fans, from the press.
10:14 So in that situation, what's the kind of mindset that you have within the team?
10:19 Is there always a threat that you will slip into desperation?
10:22 How do you guard against it? How do you focus on the cricket?
10:25 Our message has always been the same.
10:27 I know there's been a lot said in the press from when players stand up here
10:30 and we say a couple of things that might come across quite differently,
10:34 but the message has always been the same.
10:36 We've always approached the game the same way.
10:38 We've always taken the positive option.
10:40 The positive option varies from different conditions to different conditions.
10:43 The boys have still believed and stayed true to that, even though it doesn't look like that always.
10:49 Ultimately, you can talk as much as you want and you can put as much stuff into practice as you want
10:55 when you're out in the middle and you have to find a way of doing it.
10:59 I hope that answers your question.
11:04 OK, I think we're done. Thank you, everyone. Thanks, David.
11:07 - Of course.