ALEX HARTLEY believes England need to improve their fitness after crashing out of the T20 World Cup in Dubai.

England exited the tournament following a six-wicket defeat to West Indies in their final group game on Tuesday, meaning they missed out on a semi-final spot due to net run-rate.

The results saw West Indies finish top of Group B, with South Africa joining them in the last four alongside Group A’s Australia and New Zealand.

England were restricted to 141 for seven and were undone by quick half-centuries from openers Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph, who helped West Indies cruise to their target with two overs to spare.

Sloppy fielding saw Joseph dropped four times on her way to reaching 52 off 38 balls and former England international Hartley — who won the 2017 World Cup — questioned their fitness levels.

She told BBC’s Test Match Special: “There are going to be a lot of questions asked and some of them, rightly so, on fitness. England need to get fitter.

“Australia have got 15 or 16 athletes, genuine athletes. They have the best leg-spinner in the world in Amanda-Jade Wellington, that doesn’t even get in their squads any more because she’s not fit enough. She doesn’t work hard enough.

“You look at our team, 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.

“Eighty per cent of the England team are fit and athletic enough, but there are girls in that side that are letting the team down when it comes to fitness.”

England were plunged into trouble early on when they were left 34 for three in the seventh over, but Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight dragged them back into the game.

Sciver-Brunt made an unbeaten 57, but England were handed a major blow when skipper Knight retired hurt with a calf injury on 21 and was unable to field.

Spearheaded by Matthews and Joseph, a brilliant West Indies batting display saw them reach the T20 World Cup final four for the first time since 2018.

England head coach Jon Lewis had now been at the helm for two T20 World Cups, his first being at the 2023 tournament in South Africa where his side were knocked out by the hosts in the semi-finals.

England’s next big test sees them tour South Africa in the winter before facing Australia in the Women’s Ashes at the start of 2025 and Hartley backed Lewis to stay in his role.

“When you have not won a World Cup for so long, things need to change,” Hartley added.

“I think last night showed how much England need Heather Knight on the field, because she’s a calm character. She wasn’t there and everyone was looking around all flustered.

“Things have got to change. I don’t know where change comes from.

“I think Jon Lewis is the right man for the job. He has changed women’s cricket, getting the girls to realise they can have a better work-life balance. Whether or not they have potentially gone too far the other way, I’m not sure.”