Joe Root says he is hurt by the fact that England are propping up the group-stage table of the World Cup after five defeats in six games. But he still believes that they are capable of beating Australia on Saturday in Ahmedabad, and said on Thursday: "Man for man I'd have this team every day over the Australians."
Somehow, England are still mathematically in contention for the semi-finals but their group-stage elimination could be confirmed once and for all if they suffer a sixth defeat against their Ashes rivals this weekend. Root said England would have to view the game as "our World Cup final" as they look to restore some pride - and to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
"I look at this team and it's more than capable of achieving way more than it has done throughout this tournament," Root said. "The quality of players we have, we should be sat right at the top of this [table]. We all know that, and we're all very frustrated that isn't the case.
"This group of players have three opportunities to [...] play at the level we expect of ourselves: I fully believe we are more than capable of doing that on Saturday. Man for man, I'd have this team every day over the Australians. We might not have played as well as we can do but we know when we play our best stuff, the best teams struggle to compete with us.
"We have to remember that and take that into the next couple of days: both in physical practice and mentally, [we have to] make sure we're in that frame of mind to take on Australia, which is what it's about for us now. We've just got to look at Saturday as our World Cup final and play in the manner that's expected of us and we expect of ourselves."
Australia have enjoyed England's plight from afar, though Marnus Labuschagne said on Wednesday that they see them as a "dangerous" team. Root was asked specifically about how he felt when he saw Pat Cummins, Australia's captain, stifling his laughter during a press conference when questioned about England's struggles.
"Let's face it: if it was the other way around, would we be doing the same? Probably," Root said. "It hurts - it always hurts to be in this position to be sat at the bottom of the table. It's not what we expect of ourselves. If it motivates us a little bit more, then great."
Root's own form has collapsed in the last three weeks: he started the World Cup with scores of 77 and 82 against New Zealand and Bangladesh, but has recorded scores of 11, 3, 2 and 0 in his last four matches. While he is unlikely to lose his place on Saturday, his returns have been well below the level he would expect of himself.
"I feel really good in my game," he insisted. "It's been really frustrating: I've had a silly run-out [against Sri Lanka], a caught leg slip [against South Africa] which is pretty unusual in this format, and - I'll be careful how I say this - a dubious lbw decision in the last game [against India].
"That's sometimes how it goes. It's been really disappointing to not be more consistent: that's what I expect of myself. I looked at the situation against India on that wicket and thought it was laid out perfectly for me to go and win us that game, start turning our bad run of games around.
"Saturday is another opportunity to go and score runs, do what I expect of myself and what the team expects of me."