We let ourselves down against Pakistan. As Eoin Morgan told us after the match, we cannot allow standards to slip in the field because it can make the difference. And it really did. Mistakes can happen. Sometimes they can build up over the course of an innings and put people even more on edge, which makes it snowball further.
But in this instance I don’t believe that was the case. It was just a general sloppiness and pretty frustrating after we put in one of our best showings against South Africa.
The nature of the tournament means an early defeat isn’t terminal. There were individual performances during the game – centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler – and after the South Africa game that tells me we remain in good shape. We have Bangladesh this Saturday and with it a chance to get back on track.
Naturally I was pleased with my bowling and picking up three wickets. Coming on to bowl in the opening powerplay might look stressful for a spinner but I actually quite like it. The expectation remains on the batsmen to score and that brings opportunities. Myself and Mark Wood built up some good pressure after their openers started well and it was nice to peg them back.
The ball is coming out nicely at the moment. I felt at Trent Bridge I located the right pace at which to bowl. The stumping of Fakhar Zaman was really satisfying too, because he’s such a dangerous player and after spotting him coming down, I bowled it a fraction slower and got some good turn out of the track. Jos did some great work to pull it off.
In terms of my batting, I’m disappointed I couldn’t get us over the line. Coming in with 10 runs an over required is difficult and as I’m not a massive power-hitter, it’s a case of getting one away early and going from there. It just didn’t happen this time but – and this might sound strange – I genuinely don’t feel out of nick. There is no reason to feel flustered about my recent scores.
During the Indian Premier League I found some pretty decent form and I feel I am training just as well. The difference was that those runs came up the order when you get a few more balls to settle. Root, Buttler and Ben Stokes are guys who get this. But my role means you don’t always have that luxury and so scores will inevitably fluctuate.
The atmosphere at Trent Bridge was pretty intense, with a lot of Pakistan supporters in the ground. We have spoken about this as a team because we know it will continue throughout the World Cup. But it really should not affect us because we are used to these crowds, either at home and overseas.
I had some fun out in the field. Some people were chanting “He’s one of our own” or asking me if I was fasting because of Ramadan. And I saw a few Liverpool shirts, which I gave the thumbs-up to. The fact is, whoever people are supporting, they are there to have a good time and our job is to entertain them.
Am I one of their own? To be honest, growing up I always felt slightly different to my mates as I always supported England first and they tended to follow Pakistan. I genuinely thought they should be the same as me. But over time I have changed my view on this.
Firstly, it doesn’t actually matter if someone who was born in the UK supports another country. If people have a strong affiliation to Pakistan, for example, through their roots, why can’t they support them? Who cares, right? People following cricket is the important thing.
And secondly, it is changing over time. When we get to the third and fourth generation immigrant families and beyond there will be more England supporters among them, maybe even the majority. I have had British Asians tell me they support England because of me or Adil Rashid and that’s great to hear.
And was I fasting during the match? I have played cricket while fasting during Ramadan previously but for the start of this World Cup and the series against Pakistan beforehand I have kept it to training days and days off.
You have dispensation to pause when you are travelling and I have taken up this option on match days. Even fasting on training days takes it out of you and so I think it was the sensible move. It means I have around seven days of fasting to make up now and I will be doing so over the coming weeks.
I always have a slight sense of sadness when Ramadan ends. It’s such an amazing, blessed month. For me it is like a training camp for the year. You reflect on your life and things you can improve on. And it’s not about food and drink, it’s about learning to be a better person.
So I’d like to say eid mubarak to our supporters and everyone celebrating around the world. I hope they had a blessed Ramadan and can take the spirit of the month through to the rest of the year.