28 June,2019 04:45 PM IST | | mid-day online desk
Jonny Bairstow batting vs Australia
Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Friday branded Jonny Bairstow's claim that people are waiting for England to fail at the World Cup as "negative" and "pathetic".
England opener Bairstow was responding to criticism from Vaughan and fellow ex-skipper Kevin Pietersen after the hosts suffered consecutive losses against Sri Lanka and Australia.
Pietersen said current skipper Eoin Morgan was "scared" in the 64-run defeat by Australia, while Bairstow was played a radio clip of Vaughan saying England could be heading for their worst World Cup.
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Morgan's side now face an uphill task to reach the semi-finals, with tough matches to come against India and New Zealand.
"People were waiting for us to fail," said Bairstow.
"They are not willing us on to win, in many ways, they are waiting for you to get that loss, so they can jump on your throat.
"It's a typical English thing to do, in every sport." But Vaughan hit back on Friday, saying the team had huge backing.
"How wrong can @jbairstow21 be," Vaughan posted on his Instagram account.
"Never has England team had so much support but it's you and your team that has disappointed Jonny .. WIN 2 games and you are in the semis .. With this negative, pathetic mindset I am concerned though.. it's not the media's fault you have lost 3 games .. !!!"
While entering the World Cup, hosts England walked in as favourites but their batting line-up has been struggling badly in the last two games. The team is awaiting the return of star batsman Jason Roy who is out of the past few games due to a hamstring injury.
The host nation are fourth in the group table -- the last of the semi-final places -- but are closely followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Here are some reactions on Twitter on the issue between Michael Vaughan and Jonny Bairstow,
With inputs from AFP
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