THE KEY QUESTIONS

Marks out of 10? We'd be right down the bottom. We have massively under-performed and we've over-thought things Who's responsible? Players, managers and me. When you look at our preparation, I have always put Test cricket first

- MIKE WALTERS

ENGLAND cricket supremo Rob Key shouldered the blame for their World Cup flop after admitting they had "massively underperformed" in India.

Managing director Key delivered a brutally honest verdict on his team's wretched defence of the trophy they won in 2019 and admitted: "It's harsh if I turn round and blame the captain and coach. I hold myself top of the list of those responsible." As England began the inevitable cull, and named much-changed white-ball squads for next month's one-day and Twenty20 series in the Caribbean, the 50-over group contained only six survivors of the World Cup party.

Skipper Jos Buttler (right) remains in charge, with Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone joining him for three one-day internationals and five T20 dates against West Indies. And Key (circled, right), speaking just hours after England signed off with a 93run win against Pakistan in Kolkata, refused to nail Buttler and coach Matthew Mott as the sculptors of a debacle.