This seems, and should be, it for the defending champions England in the Cricket World Cup 2023.
Jos Buttler’s side went down embarrassingly to Sri Lanka by 8 wickets – this is now Sri Lanka’s 5th consecutive win over defending champion in the ODI World Cup – in Bangalore, and England are now effectively out of the semi-final contention having won only 1 match in 5 games.
Can England still reach the semi-final?
With just 1 win in 5 matches, defending champions are only mathematically alive in the semi-final race. They have only a 1.1% chance of reaching the semi-final. But they will need a miracle for that.
Barring a miracle – which would have to be the most astonishing World Cup miracle in the 21st century in world cricket – defending champion will take their flight home before the semi-final.
England started off the tournament with a big loss to New Zealand. They bounced back with a win over Bangladesh. However, England couldn’t carry any momentum and then suffered three consecutive losses to Afghanistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Their next game is against the high-flying Team India in Lucknow.
Talking about this match, England were bowled out for 156 runs, with Ben Stokes being the highest scorer with 43 runs. Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow had started well with a 45-run opening stand inside 7 overs, but once that partnership was broken, before Joe Root got run out, they fell like a pack of cards. England went from 45/0 in the 7th over to 85/5 and eventually were bowled out for 156 in 33.2 overs. Sri Lanka chased the target down with 8 wickets in hand.
Losing captain Jos Buttler said: “It’s incredibly tough. As a captain you feel that a lot – disappointed with myself and the boys that we’ve not shown our best. We’re playing a long way short of our best. There’s a lot of really experienced cricketers in the room. You don’t become a bad team overnight. That’s the frustration. We’ve been so far short of our best, and there’s no particular reason. Can’t put my finger on it. Selection is something you want to be consistent with. Selection hasn’t been our problem. We’ve been short of our standards.”
