Christchurch, Feb 23 (IANS): Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen has said failure to get early wickets was the main reason for their 119-run loss against England in a World Cup Pool A game at the Hagley Oval here Monday.

Mommsen had put the English in to bat after winning the toss, but his bowlers failed to make good use of the new ball as England put on an opening stand of 172 runs. Scotland bowled quite well at the death and restricted them to 303 runs.

Scotland never quite got into the chase as the England bowlers kept bowling a tight line and length, the only notable contribution came from the bat of opener Kyle Coetzer who scored 71. The Scots were finally bowled out for 184, with the English clinching the encounter by 119 runs.

Scotland also lost their second consecutive matches of the tournament. They had lost to New Zealand in their opener.

“We won the toss and we would have liked a few more early wickets. We pulled them back nicely but didn't get going in the chase. We didn't quite hit our areas but credit to our bowlers for bouncing back in the death,” said Mommsen who scored 26 runs for his side.

The 27-year-old rued the lack of partnerships upfront but added they did learn a few things from the match. He was, however, hopeful of making a strong comeback in their next match against against Afghanistan in Dunedin Feb 26.

“We thought we were in with a shot and needed a partnership upfront but didn't get one that we needed. Joshy (Josh Davey 4/68) did great work at the death and Kyle batted beautifully there. New Zealand game was a tough first World Cup match for a lot of boys," Mommsen said.

"Today some learnings for us and hopefully we'll be better when we come up against Afghanistan. This is a huge step up from county to international - more pressure, huge crowds, there's more at stake."