UK: England's Morgan says team 'struggled' with 'batting mantra' after Australia defeat

*NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "I think both this game and the last, we struggled with the basics of what we call our batting mantra. You know, strong intent, building partnerships, and doing it in our own way, and we haven't done those for long enough periods of the game in order to either chase down 230 or chase down 280, and that's disappointing."
SOT, Reporter: "Confidence is such a key thing but also a fragile thing, three defeats now. Has it taken a hit?"
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "I think it will take a little bit of a hit. But I certainly don't think it's knocked anybody in the changing room. Normally when we lose games of cricket, like I mentioned yesterday, we go back to what we do well. We'll still strive to do that for Sunday's game."
SOT, Reporter: "Eoin in World Cups, you haven't beaten Australia in 29 years. Is there, even on a subconscious level, a fear of them?"
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "No."
SOT, Reporter: "Why?"
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "Because I've only played against them in two World Cups. 29 years doesn't mean -- I'm 32 years old. Thanks, mate. Nice."
SOT, Reporter: "Ben Stokes was the kind of leader of the resistance with the bat but was struggling physically. Can you tell us how difficult it was for him out there and what you made of his attempt to save the game, win the game?"
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "Yeah, he obviously struggled with cramp. It was a warm day. Ben contributes in all three facets of our game plan. Today was quite a big day for him. He's obviously in very, very good form, and it's partly disappointing that in an innings like that, almost goes to one side because we lost the game. Similar to Trent Bridge where the two boys got 100s. Similar to Ben's innings the other day."
SOT, Reporter: "Do you see that you've got a particular job now to lift everyone?"
SOT, Eoin Morgan, English Team Captain: "Yeah, ideally, I'd like to lead from the front. I think the majority of the captains have success with a team when they lead from the front. So contributions from myself and the next two games, obviously might have an impact on the changing room. So hopefully I can make a difference."
SOT, Reporter: "Jason, really long journey the last five years, so many injuries. Did you ever wonder whether you would get the opportunity to have a day like today at a place like this?"
SOT, Jason Behrendorff, Australian Cricketer: "Yeah, that's a very good point. Some days, especially during all the rehab periods, you think, am I going to get back; am I going to be able to get out there and play for my country. It's one of those things you dream of as a kid to play cricket for Australia; and then to come here and play at Lord's my first time here, I trained here the other day and my first game here, so yeah, it was something special."
SOT, Reporter: "How big a thing is it for you guys to beat England, gain that confidence? Because you've beaten them twice, and I know one was a warmup game, but they are tournament favourites and you turn them over twice. How big is that for you?"
SOT, Jason Behrendorff, Australian Cricketer: "It's huge. Every game that we can win is massive. Especially in a tournament like this, you always -- they talk a lot about momentum, and that's something that's really important. So to continue winning, to continue playing good cricket, we're still serve offing to try and play a perfect game, but we're slowly getting better and better each time and today was another really good result for us."
SOT, Reporter: "As a batting unit, did you sense that England were a bit vulnerable under pressure?"
SOT, Jason Behrendorff, Australian Cricketer: "Not really. I think whenever you get off to -- I guess as a bowling team, whenever you get off to a good start, you get your foot on the throat, and you don't want to let it off. It's something that we -- I think the best way to determine, like we really want to play aggressive cricket and set the tone up front. So it was really positive that we were able to do that and continue that throughout the innings."
SCRIPT
English cricket team captain Eoin Morgan says that "struggled with the basics of what we call our batting mantra," while speaking at a press conference, after his team lost to Australia by 64 runs at Lords in London on Tuesday.
The defeat extended England's 27-year Cricket World Cup losing streak against the Australians, but Morgan was dismissive when asked by a reporter if he was afraid of his opponents.
Morgan said that he wasn't afraid, "Because I've only played against them in two World Cups. 29 years doesn't mean -- I'm 32 years old. Thanks, mate. Nice."
Asked about the victory, Australian cricketer Jason Behrendorff said, "It's huge. Every game that we can win is massive."
He added, "To continue winning, to continue playing good cricket, we're still serve offing to try and play a perfect game, but we're slowly getting better and better each time and today was another really good result for us."
Australia have secured themselves a place in the semi-finals with their victory, while England have to win either one of their final two group stage matches against India and New Zealand to make it through to the knockout stage.