England assistant Carl Hopkinson insists Netherlands clash is no ‘dead rubber’

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy England’s early exit from the World Cup is already guaranteed but assistant coach Carl Hopkinson insists their bottom-of-the-table clash against the Netherlands is no “dead rubber”. “We need to win and win well to qualify for the Champions Trophy, which is what we need to do.” On his unexpected role as carrier of the England message, he added: “I’m not quite sure why I’m the man to explain, I’m an assistant coach with the England team and I’m more than happy to come out and speak about our campaign so far.” England have named an unchanged side for the last three games, losing emphatically to Sri Lanka, India and Australia, and could belatedly mix things up. Lost to New Zealand by nine wickets Beat Bangladesh by 137 runs Lost to Afghanistan by 69 runs Lost to South Africa by 229 runs Lost to Sri Lanka by eight wickets Lost to India by 100 runs Lost to Australia by 33 runs Livingstone adds an extra spin option but has not been able to carry his share of the run-scoring load, with just 60 runs in six innings. “Knowing Ben, he’ll want to try and play the next game in front of him and try and win that for England,” he said.