England and Wales Cricket Board chief Paul Downton is standing behind under-fire coach Peter Moores in the aftermath of England’s embarrassing World Cup exit.

Moores’ men crashed out of the tournament in the group stages on Monday as a humiliating 15-run defeat to Bangladesh saw England hit a new low in a woeful World Cup campaign that has included four defeats in five matches.

Moores’ tactics and team selection have been widely criticised since he was appointed for his second spell as England head coach 11 months ago, but Downton insists the former Lancashire coach remains the right man for the job.

‘I have every faith in Peter Moores,’ Downton told Sky Sports. ‘Part of the reason for appointing Peter Moores was he is a very experienced coach. Whoever took this job was going to have a really difficult job.

‘We had a side that broke up in Australia, we had to introduce new players and part of dealing with it – which was obviously going to be pressurised – was that experience. We’re very early into an appointment. Much as we’d like to change things instantly, it takes time.

‘Look at New Zealand and where they were with their one-day cricket two years ago – it takes time to bring things through. We had a very successful team between 2009 and 2013, we have to rebuild again.’

DHAWAN TON GIVES INDIA FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

Shikhar Dhawan hit an aggressive century as defending champions India recorded their fifth victory in a row at the Cricket World Cup with a thumping eight-wicket win over Ireland in Hamilton on Tuesday.

Chasing a modest 260-run target, Dhawan notched his second century of the tournament with an 85-ball 100 as India lost only two wickets in only 36.5 overs on a batting-friendly Seddon Park pitch.

This latest victory meant India, yet to lose at this World Cup and already into the quarter-finals, were guaranteed to finish on top of Pool B ahead of their last group game against Zimbabwe in Auckland on Saturday.

Ireland, meanwhile, will likely need a win against Pakistan in their last Pool match in Adelaide on Sunday to reach the last eight.

BANGLADESH FINED AFTER ENGLAND VICTORY

Bangladesh has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its Pool A match against England in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at the Adelaide Oval on Monday.

Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fine after Mashrafe Mortaza’s side was ruled to be two overs short of its target when time allowances were taken into consideration.

As such, Mashrafe was fined 40 per cent of his match fee, while his players received 20 per cent fines.

MURALITHARAN SAYS TEAMS SHOULD FEAR SANGAKKARA

Former Sri Lanka leg-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan says Kumar Sangakkara would be the batsman all other teams feared at the World Cup after the left-hander made his third successive hundred on Sunday.

Sangakkara’s superb 104 against Australia in Sydney saw him become the first batsman to score hundreds in three consecutive World Cup innings.

‘In Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka have the number one one-day batsman in the world at the moment,’ Muralitharan wrote in his column for the International Cricket Council website.

‘You can talk all you like about Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers or Glenn Maxwell — and all of them have played superbly in this tournament — but Sanga is the man all other sides will fear most of all.

‘His feat of scoring three World Cup hundreds in a row is incredible and his ability to score at better than a run-a-ball without appearing to take risks is exceptional.

‘As this is his last World Cup he looks like a man on a mission, He is showing himself to be the complete player in every sense.’

Sri Lanka are likely to face South Africa in the quarter-finals.