Coming into the 2023 ODI World Cup as one of the favourites, but now in real danger, England have had a disappointing outing in the tournament so far. The defending champions kicked off their campaign with an embarrassing loss to New Zealand. Their chances of further qualification have all but dented after suffering a miserable loss to South Africa in their last match.
The Black Caps avenged their unfortunate defeat in the 2019 final by winning the tournament opener by 9 wickets. However, England bounced back in the next game with a massive 137-run win over Bangladesh on the back of Dawid Malan's brilliant century. Just when Jos Buttler and Co. seemed to be back on the winning track, they received a huge blow at the hands of the underdogs of the tournament.
Afghanistan thrashed England by 69 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blazing 80-run knock provided a great platform for Afghanistan. England made a comeback in the middle overs, but Hashmatullah Shahidi's side staged a brilliant comeback in the end to post a decent total of 284. Can you believe that a team like England with a strong batting line-up were bowled out for just 215 runs?
South Africa push England to bottom of the points table
Their next game was against South Africa, who also came off the back of a humiliating defeat against the Netherlands. However, the Proteas proved it was a rare off day as they beat England by 229 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen's half-century laid the platform for a big total. Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen combined for a brutal attack to take the team total to 399.
England were done and dusted after the first innings itself. Their right-arm pacer Mark Wood was the top-scorer with 43 runs off 17 balls. The English batting unit was rattled as they were bowled out for 170 runs in 22 overs. It was England's third defeat in the ongoing tournament and they dropped to second last in the points table.
Things look bleak for England going forward in the tournament, but prominent cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle still believes the holders can stage a comeback. The 62-year-old warned that England have nothing to lose now and it would be dangerous to write them off too quickly.
"I think we are writing off England too quickly. A team that has nothing to lose is very dangerous. And teams have won World Cups (Australia in 1999 and England in 2019); from a position where they had to win every league match (even if not quite as desperate as this). England, Australia, Pakistan the teams to watch out for from here," Bhogle tweeted.
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'A team that has nothing to lose...' - Commentator Harsha Bhogle warns not to write off England after three losses in 2023 ODI World Cup
England have lost three of their four matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Their latest defeat against South Africa pushed them to the bottom of the points table.
Harsha Bhogle (Source: Twitter)
Coming into the 2023 ODI World Cup as one of the favourites, but now in real danger, England have had a disappointing outing in the tournament so far. The defending champions kicked off their campaign with an embarrassing loss to New Zealand. Their chances of further qualification have all but dented after suffering a miserable loss to South Africa in their last match.
The Black Caps avenged their unfortunate defeat in the 2019 final by winning the tournament opener by 9 wickets. However, England bounced back in the next game with a massive 137-run win over Bangladesh on the back of Dawid Malan's brilliant century. Just when Jos Buttler and Co. seemed to be back on the winning track, they received a huge blow at the hands of the underdogs of the tournament.
Afghanistan thrashed England by 69 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blazing 80-run knock provided a great platform for Afghanistan. England made a comeback in the middle overs, but Hashmatullah Shahidi's side staged a brilliant comeback in the end to post a decent total of 284. Can you believe that a team like England with a strong batting line-up were bowled out for just 215 runs?
South Africa push England to bottom of the points table
Their next game was against South Africa, who also came off the back of a humiliating defeat against the Netherlands. However, the Proteas proved it was a rare off day as they beat England by 229 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen's half-century laid the platform for a big total. Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen combined for a brutal attack to take the team total to 399.
England were done and dusted after the first innings itself. Their right-arm pacer Mark Wood was the top-scorer with 43 runs off 17 balls. The English batting unit was rattled as they were bowled out for 170 runs in 22 overs. It was England's third defeat in the ongoing tournament and they dropped to second last in the points table.
Things look bleak for England going forward in the tournament, but prominent cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle still believes the holders can stage a comeback. The 62-year-old warned that England have nothing to lose now and it would be dangerous to write them off too quickly.
"I think we are writing off England too quickly. A team that has nothing to lose is very dangerous. And teams have won World Cups (Australia in 1999 and England in 2019); from a position where they had to win every league match (even if not quite as desperate as this). England, Australia, Pakistan the teams to watch out for from here," Bhogle tweeted.