England have denied that their worst ever World Cup has been the result of them being tied up in knots by an obsession with statistics and analysis. The lack of freedom in their batting and their apparent reluctant to think on their feet while bowling has been the biggest problem for England in a World Cup where they have failed to live up to even the most modest of expectations. And Peter Moores appeared to sum up their whole constipated approach when he said in the aftermath of England’s humiliating defeat by Bangladesh that he would have to ‘look at the data’ to see what went wrong. Paul Farbrace speaks to the assembled media ahead of England's dead rubber against Afghanistan on Friday . Ian Bell is pictured arriving at Sydney Airport following England's embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh . James Taylor reacts after he loses his wicket en route to a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh . Yet Paul Farbrace, the man who led Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20 titles last year before throwing in his lot with England, says that whatever has led to England’s shortcomings here, it is not statistics. ‘There has been a lot said about stats and team meetings,’ said assistant coach Farbrace. ‘But when I was with Sri Lanka we had a lot more meetings and looked at stats a lot more than England do. There’s no question about that. ‘We had a team of six people working with Sri Lanka during the World Twenty20 who provided us with data straight after a game and the next day. Our preparation from fantastic statistics helped us win the final.’ It is Moores who is accused of being driven by the numbers. ‘It’s tough on him but he accepts the criticism and knows it comes with the territory,’ said Farbrace. ‘It’s unfair that Peter is the one in the spotlight. We’re all in this together and we’re all responsible for what has happened.’ The theory that England have been stifled by outdated plans has been given credence by the fact that captain Eoin Morgan, who was expected to be a free spirit here, has repeatedly brought up statistics in press conferences. ‘I can’t answer for them. I can’t say why they said that,’ said Farbrace of Moores and Morgan. ‘All I know is we’re not spending hours talking about statistics and numbers. We don’t do that. Bangladesh celebrate their shock victory over England in the World Cup earlier this week . Eoin Morgan was expected to be a free spirit at the World Cup but has been bogged down by statistics . ‘What we do is allow people to look at footage. Everybody has analysis of the opposition downloaded onto their iPads and it’s up to them if they want to look at it or not. There are lots of different ways that people like to learn. ‘For instance, Ian Bell is someone who is very well planned and methodical. He wants to know how many net bowlers we have, whether there’s a left-arm seamer, how many right-handers there are. And he probably studies the footage in detail. But Moeen Ali will come up to me and say ‘listen Farb, I’m not interested in what’s on my iPad, I just want to go and bat. And he has had praise for his approach. You have to cater for everybody.’ Farbrace has created an excellent impression around the England team amid the wreckage of this tour and, with his experience of leading Sri Lanka to limited-overs success, it would not be a surprise if he takes greater responsibility for the ‘new era’ of one-day cricket they have to produce. ‘There will be a lot of discussion and debate about how we move forward and what the next step is,’ said Farbrace. ‘We have the Caribbean series where there will be a few changes and Alastair Cook and others will come back. ‘We made good progress in Test cricket with the Indian series last year and we have to keep building on that. One-day cricket is a completely different story and we have to make sure that by the time we play New Zealand in 50-over cricket this summer we have clear direction. ‘There’s a fantastic opportunity now for players in county cricket to stick their hands up and say ‘there are spaces in that England team and I’m going to take my chance’. There has never been a better time for people to do that to be honest.’
England were knocked out of the World Cup after they lost to Bangladesh . Coach Peter Moores said he would have 'to look at the data' after the defeat . Comments attracted criticism and appeared to sum up England's approach . But Paul Farbrace has insisted England are not obsessed with statistics . England face Afghanistan on Friday in their final game of the tournament .