England lost the 3rd T20I to South Africa by 90 runs chasing 191 to win.
This series loss comes after England lost the ODI and T20I series to India recently. And speaking after the third and final T20I, England captain Jos Buttler said that his side has received a 'reality check' after this series loss and they cannot dwell on the success achieved in past.
"We have not played our best cricket by a long stretch and I do not think we have been able to impose ourselves. We cannot live in the past and pat ourselves on the backs for the changes that have been made in English cricket and the successes we have had. It is about looking forward, trying to chase the best teams in the world and being at the forefront of that,” Buttler told Sky Sports.
"You do not want to overreact to situations but you could sense the frustration around the ground with the 'get on with it, England' chants. You do not want to be associated with that. It is the first time I have heard that for a very long time, so that frustration around the group shows we were not managing to put on the show we want to put on," he continued.
Buttler said that the team does need an honest chat.
He said: "You can cope with losing but you want to make sure you stay true to what you believe in and I think we fell well short with the way we played. The disappointing thing was the way we went down. We lacked intent and confidence and did not put the opposition under pressure. We never managed to fire shots and wrestle the initiative. I think that bit of timidness is probably the thing we are frustrated with most. We want to be a team that wants to be brave and take risks."
England were set 192 to win in the third and deciding T20I and take the T20I series. This came after half-centuries from Reeza Hendricks (70) and Aiden Markram (51) helped South Africa post 191/5 in 20 overs.
However, England couldn’t get any momentum to their innings and were bundled out for 101 runs to lose by 90 runs with Jonny Bairstow top-scoring with 27 runs. Tabraiz Shamsi picked 5/24 and was the Player of the Match.
"We have to work out where that lack of consistency comes from. Whether it's over-confidence or lack of confidence, we have not been able to back up performances. As individuals and as a team we have not played our best. The first place I would look is myself. I want to lead from the front as captain and I know I have not performed at the level I would like to," he concluded.
Before their T20 World Cup opener on October 22 against Afghanistan, England has 10 more T20 matches to go, with seven games in Pakistan and three in Australia later.
(ANI inputs)