England need to get fitter following their shambolic exit from the Women’s T20 World Cup, according to former spinner Alex Hartley.
England dropped five catches in a defeat by West Indies on Tuesday that condemned them to a first group-stage exit since 2010.
And Hartley, a 50-over World Cup winner in 2017, told Test Match Special: “I’m not going to name names, but if you look at them, you know. You know who’s blowing a gasket and who isn’t.
“About 80% of the England team are fit and athletic enough, but there are girls in that side who are letting the team down when it comes to fitness.”
England won their opening three group-stage matches, but were still vulnerable when they met the Windies in their final game.
England posted 141-7 and, in doing so, lost captain Heather Knight to a calf injury.
With Knight unable to field, England fell apart. West Indies reached their target in 18 overs and went through to the semi-finals alongside South Africa, leaving England third in the group on net run-rate.
“It’s really disappointing, isn’t it? West Indies played a totally different game to England,” said Hartley, who won 32 caps for England between 2016 and 2019.
“There are going to be a lot of questions asked and some of them, rightly so, on fitness. England need to get fitter.”
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