Lisa Keightley takes responsibility as England slip to third straight defeat

The defending champions are on the brink of an early World Cup exit following consecutive defeats to Australia, West Indies and South Africa

England head coach Lisa Keightley is taking responsibility for her side’s slump in form following their third straight defeat at the 2022 Women’s World Cup.

Batting first, the defending champions posted 235 for 9 from their 50 overs, with Tammy Beaumont (62) and Amy Jones (53) both scoring half-centuries.

However, fine batting from Laura Wolvaardt (77) and Marizanne Kapp (32), who also picked up 5 for 45 in the first innings, coupled with yet another sloppy fielding display from England helped the Proteas to victory with four balls and three wickets to spare.

The defeat marks the first time England have lost three consecutive matches at a 50-over World Cup, following earlier losses against Australia and West Indies, and extends their losing streak in the format to six matches. The last time England went this long without a win was spring 2007.

"As the coach I take a huge amount of responsibility," said Keightley. "It's up to me to drive the team and get the wins on the board. That's the job of the coach and we're trying really hard, the coaching staff and myself to get the players up and about and we don't have to do too much.

^{England lost to South Africa by three wickets [Fiona Goodall/Getty Images]}

"The players are pretty gutted and they wanted to bounce back, and we were unable to do it. So, the responsibility and the buck lies with me and I'm happy to cop that.

"Moving forward. Do I feel the pressure? I don't feel any more pressure than what the players feel and I'm no more disappointed in the players.

"We came into this World Cup wanting to play better than we have and we haven't and it's been frustrating. Frustrating for myself and the coaching staff and frustrating for the players."

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of England’s performances in New Zealand has been their fielding, with dropped catches, missed opportunities and a bucketload of wides gifting runs to their opponents.

And while the latter issue was rectified against South Africa – England bowled just eight wides compared to 44 across the previous two matches -  the fielding errors remained, most notably when Wolvaardt was dropped by Beaumont and Kate Cross in the powerplay.

^{England are now on the brink of a group stage exit [John Cowpland/Getty Images]}

Keightley admitted she and her team can’t quite "put their finger on" why England’s fielding has deteriorated in recent matches and confirmed it will be discussed when they review the World Cup performance later this year.

For now, however, she is focussing on dusting her team down ahead of their clash with India in Mount Maunganui on March 16.

"We all believe and we’re trying to hard to get those wins," she said. "And once we win a close one, we get a bit of momentum and finish strong. We’ve just got to dust ourselves off, come back out in two days’ time and play the way we want to play.

"We'll keep fighting and we'll keep training hard in between and talking to the players. It'd be great to come out and bounce back against India and put the pressure on them."