England fell to a five-run defeat against New Zealand at the Kia Oval Last night in the first of the two-match Natwest Twenty 20 Series.
The margin mirrored England's loss against India in the Champions Trophy final and Eoin Morgan, standing in as captain for Nottinghamshire's Stuart Broad, made his disappointment plain to see.
"It's not very enjoyable to get over the line," he said.
“I challenged the guys to stay in the game throughout because it was a good wicket with a short boundary on one side."
The England side boasted batting talent throughout, with Nottinghamshire pair Alex Hales and Michael Lumb opening an order stretching as far as the likes of Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara.
“With the big hitters we have in the middle order it was very much within our capabilities.
“It's very small margins, especially in Twenty20 cricket on a very good wicket. One blow and we would have won the game.
“There is not a great deal to be disappointed about and hopefully we can turn it around for Thursday.”
One man set to return this thursday for the second match is Kevin Pietersen, whose return from injury last week started in style, hitting an unbeated 177 in Surrey's LV=County Championship draw against Yorkshire.
“Kevin is a huge part of English cricket and has been for a long time,” said Morgan.
“What he brings to the table, probably very few people at the world can.
“He can take the game away from you at any stage and we saw during the week the way he performed; he takes a lot of pride in when he goes out there and bats.