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Joe Root: England "hurting" following defeat to Sri Lanka

England batsman Joe Root admits that the team is "hurting" following their nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at the World Cup.

Joe Root has admitted that England are "hurting" following their nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at the World Cup earlier this morning.

The batsman led the scoring for England with 121 runs to set their opponents a target of 310 for victory, but Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara both hit centuries to lead Sri Lanka to victory with 16 balls to spare.

Root told BBC Sport: "I thought at the half-time mark 310 was a good score. I think back to dropping that catch myself. If you look at the sides that have been successful so far in this tournament, they've taken early wickets and got into middle order. We couldn't do that today, we didn't have a cutting edge.

"The first two games we were outperformed in all three departments. Today we've come across Sangakkara, who's in the form of his life. I think it's harsh to say the batting was timid.

"In the middle overs, [Angelo] Mathews and [Thisara] Perera bowled an exceptional line and length, you have to give them credit. The lads in that changing room are hurting and we'll be desperate to get out and put in a good performance again."

The result leaves England sixth in Pool A, with only the top four sides progressing to the quarter-finals.

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Sri Lanka batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne wave to fans after hitting the winning runs against England during their 2015 Cricket World Cup Group A match in Wellington on March 1, 2015
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