Lack of an explosive batsman hurt England

During the Big Bash League coverage, my fellow commentator Adam Gilchrist singled out England as a team he thought could cause a few upsets through the World Cup. At the time my response was that I couldn't see that happening. They just didn't have the balance and quality heading into the tournament, and now they are going home before the quarter-finals. Sorry, Gilly!

The global reaction to England's exit has been fierce, with the UK newspapers aggressively asking why. The captain, Eoin Morgan, is under pressure - results unfortunately always come back to the captain. It will be interesting to see what happens to him after their final game, against Afghanistan.

Whatever the fate of Morgan, coach Peter Moores or director of cricket Paul Downton, historically England just haven't been very good at one-day cricket. If you look at all their World Cup performances since they made the final in Australia in 1992, there just isn't any sort of record of success, no matter how the game has evolved.

England have, for a long time, had an attraction to bits-and-pieces players, who they think might chip in with 30 runs and six or seven overs, rather than the sort of players who can turn a game.

The teams heading into the World Cup quarter-finals have all got X-factor type players. But you don't see that in the England line-up. Ian Bell is a class player but he's not going to take a one-day game away from you. Moeen Ali has made a reasonable start but he's in there for his bowling as well. James Taylor played well against Australia in Melbourne but he doesn't fill opposition sides with apprehension. Joe Root has a lot of ability but even his technique can look rigid for one-day games.

Contrast that with Australia's use of Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin and James Faulkner in the middle order, South Africa having AB de Villiers at No. 5, New Zealand choosing Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi, and even India most of the way down their batting order. England's most explosive player is Jos Buttler, who has often found himself coming in to bat after the dominant theme of the innings has been established.

England's bowling has also been a source of headaches. If the ball doesn't swing, there is a feeling of sameness about their attack. Until Chris Jordan was brought in against Bangladesh, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and James Anderson all posed similar questions for batsmen. This was particularly evident late in innings, where teams scored freely against them.

The change of leadership just before the World Cup doesn't look like it has worked either. I don't think Morgan knows whether he's a right- or left-hander at the moment. Appointing a new captain on the eve of the World Cup showed that England's planning was out. It was unfair to give Morgan only a couple of series to lead, going in to the tournament, and after being dismantled by Australia in the World Cup opener they were never in contention.

In fact, choosing Morgan as captain may have been counterproductive. For a long time he was the player expected to provide the extra push at the finish of an innings, after the likes of Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott had set a platform. They have relied too much on Morgan to stand up and do that, and adding the pressure of World Cup captaincy has probably contributed to his lack of impact.

Morgan and Buttler together playing well in the middle order would have made a decent duo to provide the acceleration other teams have been able to achieve. It is absolutely critical that the players cast in those roles stand up and win you one-day games, but Morgan and Buttler haven't been able to do that in this World Cup.

It must be said that up until last summer in Australia, England have done a great job in Test cricket over the past ten years. For a long time they were setting the benchmark, off the back of some very good bowlers in Anderson, Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann. Guys like Bell, Trott and Andrew Strauss held up their top order and made the scores that allowed the bowlers to pressure opponents over long periods. The one-day team has not achieved the same results, but there was a World T20 win in 2010, and they should have won the 2013 Champions Trophy.

It was evident to me in my time with Surrey in 2013 that once that generation moved on, there was not the depth beneath them to come in and take over the mantle that had been set down. The primary difference between England and Australia right now is that Australia have five or six quality quick bowlers ready to come in behind Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris.

A lot of people will be asking whether Kevin Pietersen would have made a difference, including the man himself. He might have been able to provide some of the missing spark. Watching him in the BBL I wasn't sure he's quite the player he once was. The reality is that very few of us are when we get to that stage of our careers - Kumar Sangakkara being the obvious exception! Pietersen might have brought something helpful to the team, but it appears there is too much water under the bridge to go back there again.

England did go back, though, by reappointing Moores to replace Andy Flower, and he is currently the man under the most pressure, given the World Cup failure. I heard a lot of good things about Moores via Simon Katich from their time together at Lancashire but was less impressed by some of the words coming out of the England camp at this tournament.

When Moores more or less pointed the finger at his bowling coach, David Saker, for death bowling tactics being wrong, it had me worried about the team. You just don't hear things like that coming out of good and settled sides. I know Saker's contract is up and wouldn't be surprised to see him back coaching somewhere in Australia in the next couple of months. Whether someone like Jason Gillespie goes into that bowling coach role or even Moores' job we will have to wait and see.

Someone of Dizzy's character and background might just be the right man for England. An overly structured and "set in their ways" approach, with a very intense coach and a lot of emphasis on analysis and data can cause some angst. Dizzy has shown in Yorkshire that he can create an environment more relaxed but still focused and successful, but I'm not sure I'd be rushing into the England job right now if I were him.