WHERE do you start when discussing the demise of English cricket?

The performance at the World Cup has been labelled “diabolical” by former skipper Andrew Strauss and there is little in the way of defence for the ECB chiefs, coaching staff and players.

It is not just the defeats, hurtful as they have been, it is the manner of those and the standard of cricket – it has simply not been anywhere near good enough for an international side.

So where does the blame lie?

The under-performing players must take a share, as must head coach Peter Moores and his staff.

But for me there is a deeper-lying reason and that is complacency.

Like many of our national sports, English cricket has fallen into a trap of believing its own hype.

For several years the work done behind the scenes, mainly focusing on a flailing Test side in truth, paid off as England made it to the top of the world rankings.

We had pride in the team again as it reached a level normally reserved for footballers – anyone who recalls the 2005 Ashes bus parade will appreciate that.

But the old adage rings true – it is harder to stay at the top than reach it. And English cricket has found that out to its cost.

Now I am not fully appreciative of what actually goes on behind the scenes with regards keeping the team at the top.

I’m sure the youth coaching continued as it always had and maybe that group of players who dominated were a kind of golden generation.

But you can never take anything for granted.

Sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch when times get rough – just look at the Aussies.

Maybe it’s indicative of our country. Maybe it is an attitude that we have reached the top and that was the goal.

Football suffers similar ills. We are all told the Premier League is the best in the world but performances by our club sides in Europe in recent years tell a different story.

Not too long ago, we regularly had three teams in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and semis on some occasions.

This year we may not have any.

It’s time for both football and cricket to have a rethink.