Defending champions, England have been performing below par in this edition of the ODI World Cup.
They are now on the cusp of losing out and packing up their suitcases to exit the tournament, should they lose one more game.
Meanwhile, there have been plenty of mistakes by the side which has cost them games at crunch moments.
Such an underperformance has also disappointed their many fans at home and those who have come to India.
So, what has gone wrong with the defending champions in this edition of the ODI World Cup? Let’s take a look.
Top 5 reasons why England have not been able to win games at the ODI World Cup
Not having enough young legs
England has shown quite the resistance right from the beginning of the World Cup. The lack of new players in the squad has cost them dearly.
Eight members of their 2019 World Cup players are playing once again in this edition of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, several domestic tournaments have failed to garner enough attention from the selectors.
Even Harry Brook is struggling to make it to the playing XI as has been seen in the tournament so far.
England’s heavy reliance on Ben Stokes
It gave England a reason to smile when allrounder Ben Stokes decided to end his retirement from ODIs and play against New Zealand.
Not only did he smash 182 runs in the ODI series, he quickly became England’s trump card for the ODI World Cup.
However, Stokes hasn’t been at his best in the tournament, firstly missing the warm-up week and then four straight games due to a hip injury.
When he did come into play against South Africa in Mumbai, he couldn’t score much and now his team is on the brink of elimination.
Not being able to perform well in the Powerplays
Back in 2019, England had a well-set opening pair in Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow who drained out the color from the face of new ball bowlers.
The then skipper, Eoin Morgan built a picture of fearlessness for his side and that’s what was reflected throughout their campaign.
However, in 2023, England’s opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan looks very poor as Bairstow has lost his form while Malan likes to take things methodically.
Therefore, England have been able to score a mere 58 runs in the Powerplay and have lost nine wickets in their first five games in the Powerplay overs.
Thus, England’s performance is poor right from the top which they need to improve soon and quickly.
Poor selection process
England’s selection process in this World Cup has gone from bad to worse with each passing game.
During the 2019 World Cup, they used just 13 players from their squad of 15 and won the trophy at home.
However, in 2023, they have used all of their 15 players and have confusion regarding who to pick in the next game.
Meanwhile, they started their campaign using a team of all-rounders but were dominated badly and decided to change tack when South Africa came along.
After the loss to the Proteas, they began their original plan against Sri Lanka but got another defeat.
Furthermore, Reece Topley, England’s in-form bowler was kept out of the first game before injury claimed the better of him for the rest of the tournament.
Harry Brook has been abandoned for a long time while Moeen Ali is getting in and out of the side despite being the vice-captain.
Therefore, England has been unable to put together a balanced side in the 2023 ODI World Cup until now.
Continuous errors by Jos Buttler
While it’s one thing to be beaten by the better team of the day, gifting away your wins to the opposition isn’t.
This is what England has done against South Africa and then against Afghanistan in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.
Additionally, the two run-outs against Sri Lanka show what they are doing at the moment and that needs to be changed.
Hopefully, England will come out of their wasteful state soon and start winning games in this World Cup.
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