England batsman Joe Root has said that his teammates need to 'raise their game' in order to stop embarrassing their fans after their colossal 157-run defeat by Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Chester-le-Street on Sunday.
England, which is hoping captain Alastair Cook can recover from his groin strain to take the reins back for the third installment at Old Trafford on Wednesday, collapsed to 99 all out in just 26.1 overs in Durham.
According to The Guardian, aware of the dwindling crowds in this first series of the summer, Root said that the best way to win back support from their fans is to win matches, or at any rate avoid abject displays like Sunday's.
Root also said that they have to make sure that they are honest with themselves and discuss their failings as a side in order to impress their fans to the extent that they come and watch further matches.
Stating that England needs to maintain the consistency they showed while taking an early lead in the series with an 81-run success at The Oval, Root also said that they need to admit their failures and accept that they were simply not good enough in the second ODI.
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