Cricket World Cup 2023 | Free fall from zenith to nadir: what went wrong for England?

How England managed to reach the bottom of the World Cup’s points table is a mystery that may take a Hercule Poirot to solve. The English tragedy is as much the story of the World Cup as the way the underdogs The Netherlands and Afghanistan have fared against much stronger rivals.

When England arrived in India for the World Cup a little over a month ago, it had every right to believe that it could defend the title it won at home four years ago. Lest we forget, England also holds the T20 World Cup.

It was widely expected that Jos Buttler’s men would reach the semifinals, at least. There wasn’t much criticism about the selection, either.

Jason Roy was unlucky to have missed out after being named in the provisional squad; the opener was one of the stars of the triumph in 2019. But, not many could find fault with his replacement: Harry Brook, the most exciting batter to emerge from England for years.

The 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes had come out of retirement to have another go, and his 182 off just 124 balls — breaking Roy’s record for the highest individual ODI score for England — at the Oval against New Zealand justified Buttler’s conversations with him on a possible return. Given also the fact that several players, like Buttler, Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, were familiar with the Indian conditions, thanks to the IPL, the Englishmen must have landed in Ahmedabad for the World Cup’s opening fixture in high spirits.

They were in for a shock, though.

They were thrashed by New Zealand by nine wickets with nearly 14 overs to spare. It was the sweetest of revenges.

A resounding 137-run victory against Bangladesh in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala, must have lessened the pain of the blow from the Kiwis. There was a hundred by Dawid Malan and fifties by Bairstow and Root at the top of the order and six wickets were claimed between them by the new-ball bowlers Woakes and Reece Topley. Matthew Mott and his boys may have felt their campaign was back on track.

How wrong they were!

That win against Bangladesh would remain their only one — with just three more matches remaining. They were stunned by Afghanistan by 69 runs and then were smashed by South Africa by 229 runs, after the Proteas amassed 399 for seven after being put in. An eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka was complemented by a 100-run loss to India.

The margins tell quite a lot about how England has been outplayed by its opposition, match after match. As would the number of overs left unused by the England batters — among them some of the world’s best against the white ball — in the games against South Africa (28), Sri Lanka (16.4) and India (15.1).

Not that the bowlers were crowning themselves in glory. “I think bowling has been a big let down for England at this World Cup, and we have to remember that Jofra Archer and Liam Plunkett had played major roles in the victory in 2019,” former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta told The Hindu. “England’s show has been a shock, and I couldn’t find anything wrong with the selection of the squad.”

Fault could be found the way the Englishmen approached the World Cup — and the ODI format in general — though. They came to India after playing a series at home against New Zealand and Ireland. Against Ireland it was a second-string side led by Zak Crawley that was fielded.

Contrast that with Australia which came to India for a three-match ODI series just ahead of the World Cup. Mitchell Marsh said it had helped in preparation for the big tournament. India, like the other four Asian countries, also had the Asia Cup to warm up.

South Africa could polish its formidable batting line-up during the five-match series against Australia at home. And it has been able to take that momentum — winning the rubber despite losing the first two matches — to India.

In England, the ODI format has taken a back seat, behind First Class, T20 and now The Hundred varieties of cricket. After the defeat to Afghanistan, Root admitted the England players didn’t have enough domestic or international experience in the format, but he also said “there is talk of whether this format is relevant any more, anyway.”

But, one of the things that makes cricket a unique game is its various formats, the way it is played and the influence of conditions. There is as much fun watching Glenn Maxwell smashing a 40-ball hundred as Rohit Sharma crafting a 101-ball 87 in a challenging situation.

With that knock at Lucknow, Rohit showed how in ODI cricket you sometimes — even in these modern times — need to bat according to the situation. England’s batters have not been able to do it. “It was surprising to find that all their batters went out of form,” says Dasgupta. “And England looks like a good IPL team with so many stars but getting everything wrong.”

One is reminded of the way Royal Challengers Bangalore performed at the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League earlier this year. It managed to get many of the biggest names in the women’s game, such as Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Megan Schutt, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh.

RCB began as one of the frontrunners when the WPL got underway. But the superstar-studded team lost its first five games and would finish second from the bottom on the points table.

Rarely has a cricket team with so many talents failed as spectacularly in recent times. Cricket may be the most individual-driven of all team sports, and a great knock or spell could win a game, but a superstar alone doesn’t win tournaments, a team does. Remember Sachin Tendulkar had to wait for two decades to be part of a World Cup-winning team.

Remember also how M.S. Dhoni promoted himself up the order in the final as India chased the Cup at the Wankhede in 2011. Buttler, regarded as England’s best white-ball batter of all time, could have also done something like that: he could have considered opening in one of the games (yes, even as he is leading and keeping wicket) and seen how it went.

The ECB’s decision to announce the central contracts during the World Cup has also been questioned by some, including former England cricketers. That would have been a distraction for the players, especially when they are not doing well. David Willey, the only one among the World Cup squad not to get a contract, duly announced his retirement from international cricket.

“The announcement of the contract should have been timed better,” says former India opener Sujith Somasunder, former India batter and sports psychologist who is heading education at the National Cricket Academy. “I feel England has been beset by multiple issues at this World Cup, like making wrong decisions (putting South Africa in), not getting the right combinations and carrying the baggage from the previous defeat. And we do not know what is happening at the dressing room, because it is a sacred space.”

Eoin Morgan, who is credited with not just winning the last World Cup but the way England changed the way it played white-ball cricket, also hinted that, but Mott said that the dressing room environment was healthy.

England is all but out of the World Cup and should now be thinking about qualifying for the Champions Trophy in 2025, by finishing inside the top seven.

Not a World Cup defence has perhaps gone so wrong since France’s football team failed to score a single goal in 2002.