"Doesn't make us bad cricketers" - Jonny Bairstow says England have 'unwavering belief' despite losing to Afghanistan in 2023 World Cup

England opener Jonny Bairstow says he has complete faith in the side despite finding themselves in a precarious position following two losses in three games in the 2023 World Cup. The Yorkshire batter underlined that Afghanistan players cannot be taken lightly, given they have impressive numbers in the IPL.

The defending champions suffered a stunning loss to Afghanistan in Delhi, falling 69 runs short of the 285-run target set by Afghanistan. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman took 3 wickets each as the Afghan spinners fully exploited the conditions in Delhi to register a historic win.

Ahead of facing South Africa on Saturday in Mumbai, Bairstow reminded that England are double world champions for a reason and suggested it's no shame to lose to Afghanistan, given the number of match-winners they have. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, the keeper-batter stated:

"There's a reason why the guys won the T20 World Cup last year; there's a reason why the guys won the 2019 World Cup, and we're the defending champions. Just because we've lost a game to Afghanistan doesn't make us bad cricketers or anything like that. You look at [Fazalhaq] Farooqi, his record in the IPL; you look at the three spinners that they've got and their records. Just because they play for Afghanistan, they're no slouches. They've actually got some of the world's best in there and they've got match-winners."

The Englishmen found themselves under pressure from the outset against Afghanistan as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stitched a 114-run partnership. England also failed to get together solid multiple partnerships, losing wickets frequently.

"There's no lack of belief within this group" - Jonny Bairstow

England vs Afghanistan. (Credits: Twitter)

Bairstow, who is yet to make a big score in the tournament, recalled that England suffered similar setbacks in the 2019 World Cup, but managed to pull through it. Hence, the 34-year-old asserted that the belief is still intact, adding:

"The group remains calm within it. Belief and confidence isn't something that's been questioned one bit. That's something that you're able to call upon when you do lose a game. We lost to Sri Lanka in 2019. We lost to Pakistan in 2019. We still went through. There were similar things that I'm sure you guys [the press] wrote in 2019 at the home World Cup. But that's OK. That's what you've got to do. The confidence is there. It's unwavering. There's no lack of belief within this group."

The Proteas, about to face England, suffered a loss in their last game to the Netherlands.