England one-day batsman Alex Hales says the players are “embarrassed” by their World Cup failure, while team-mate Ravi Bopara claims they played “with fear”.
Nottinghamshire opener Hales, 26, played in England’s final two group matches at the tournament, including the decisive defeat against Bangladesh.
“I think all of us are embarrassed about what happened,” Hales told BBC Radio Nottingham.
“The skill level and standard of cricket we showed wasn’t good enough.”
Bopara, 29, featured in England’s dead rubber against Afghanistan, where he did not bat in the match as they chased down a low total for victory.
The Essex batsman believes England’s players struggled to show what they were actually capable of during the event.
“I can’t stand here and lie – we probably did play with fear and did not express ourselves as we should,” Bopara told BBC Sport.
“But at least we’ve identified that. We’ve been honest with each other and we are going to change the culture in the team.”
Hales was overlooked for the defeats against New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka, as well as the win over Scotland.
But he returned to the side against Bangladesh – scoring 27 – and retained his place in the meaningless nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in Sydney, where he scored 37.
Hales had not played in nearly a month before his first appearance, but he refused to blame a lack of cricket for failing to hit a big score.
“The standards we set and the way we played was poor,” Hales said.
“It was a bit frustrating carrying the drinks for a few games but I am disappointed I didn’t take my chance. I felt ready for it.”
Hales is convinced England do have the quality in their domestic game and are capable of playing a brand of cricket that will challenge the best sides.
The national side will get the chance to prove that theory when New Zealand and Australia visit to play a series of one-day internationals.
He added: “If you look around English cricket there are some talented, young, dynamic players and it’s about us creating an environment where everyone is comfortable to go out and express that.
“It’s going to be a very tough summer of one-day cricket playing arguably the two best teams in the world, so we all know we have to raise our standards.
“I am looking forward to it and hope I can nail down a spot in the team.”
