The World Cup is the biggest stage in the cricket world, and entering it as the defending champion and winning again is a challenge not all teams can handle easily. The 2023 World Cup’s England side taught us that lesson, as we saw the once deadly team totally crumble under pressure and get kicked out of the group stages. 

Cricket is unpredictable and that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s like a casino. Just as the odds shift rapidly in poker, blackjack, or roulette at your favorite online casino, cricket’s momentum can change in an instant. And for England, it often feels more like spinning the slots – just when everything seems perfectly aligned, it all falls apart in the blink of an eye.

But what caused a side that won one of the most amazing World Cup finals of all time to break down like this? Is this really the same side that just won the T20 World Cup, defeating the best teams in the world with ease? What happened to Bazball, and why didn’t it work for this World Cup? How can a dominating team struggle to stand its ground? This is the story of England cricket and their humiliating downfall.

 

From Cricket Champions to Chumps: England’s Rise and Fall

Cricket is not just a sport for England; in fact, they are the founding nation of the sport, and records of an England national team date all the way back to 1739. However, it only really gained popularity in 1846 with William Clark’s All England 11. But the true beginning of the sport starts with its most iconic rivalry. England fans are no strangers to disappointment in the World Cup. England’s World Cup journey mirrors this, a mix of near-misses and jackpot moments.

Overview of England’s Performance in Every World Cup:

Their whole journey started in disappointment when they got out in the semi-finals of the first-ever World Cup in 1975, despite being clear favorites.

 

The next edition in 1979 was much better, as they reached the final but did not have any answers for the legendary defending champions, West Indies.

 

1983 brought back more pain as they lost to a relatively inexperienced Team India in the semi-finals.

 

In 1987 and 1992, we saw two devastating back-to-back final losses against their biggest rivals, Australia, and Pakistan.

 

1996, 1999, and 2003 brought humiliation for the team, as they didn’t even make it past the group stages. 

 

2010 brought their first real trophy, but we’ll cover that a bit later. This wasn’t the start of a great period, as more pain followed soon after.

 

In 2011, England finally made it to the knockout stages after almost 20 years, but it ended in total embarrassment. Sri Lanka chased down their 229-run target without losing a single wicket

 

They were also eliminated in the group rounds of the T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2014. To make matters worse, they finished second in the 2013 Champions Trophy, losing to India.

 

The 2015 campaign was embarrassing too as they failed to make it past a young Bangladesh team to the knockout stages.

 

They had a chance at it in 2016 but they blew it again in the finals of the T20 World Cup against West Indies.

 

English fans had every right to lose hope at that point but die-hard fans of Team England witnessed a change in luck.

 

The 2019 World Cup final was the point where it was finally coming home for England fans. But New Zealand proved to be a difficult opponent. With the score tied at 241, they needed a Super Over to make up the difference. Even that wasn’t enough, as both teams scored 15 in the final over. The boundary-count rule got them the trophy. However, Eoin Morgan’s boys had done it, with a masterclass from Ben Stokes.

 

This tournament lit a fire under the England cricket team. In spite of losing in the 2021 T20 World Cup semifinals, the Three Lions recovered swiftly and took home the championship in 2022. Young talents such as Player of the Series Sam Curran emerged.

The Bazball Effect: Is It Still Relevant?

In terms of red-ball cricket, Test coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes introduced the world to Bazball. This attacking, explosive mindset meant that England was not willing to accept draws, reigniting interest in Test cricket among the general public.

At first glance, everything seemed promising for this team. England had an experienced squad that had just won a white-ball trophy and was changing the way test cricket was played with an exciting new style. But later, we realized our overhype over Bazball. 

 

However, upon closer inspection, there were massive red flags even before the tournament started.

 

Between 2015 and 2019, England played the most ODI matches in the world, which made them the best team in the world. However, the management seemed to have totally ignored the value of this preparation. Between 2019 and 2023, England played fewer ODIs than five other nations. This drop from first to sixth in terms of ODI matches played was a sign of things to come.

England Cricket Team’s Over-Rotation of Players

Another major issue was over-rotation. Only Moeen Ali and Jason Roy played more than 30 ODI matches for the squad between 2019 and 2023. What’s worse, Jason Roy was eventually dropped for Dawid Malan in the World Cup squad. In other words, one of the most experienced players in their team would not be part of their campaign as a result of over-rotation.

 

This team was old. Almost all the players were over 30, putting a lot of pressure on younger players like Harry Brook and Sam Curran to bring energy into the squad. Harry Brook was also handed the massive responsibility of filling the shoes of Eoin Morgan in the middle order, a role he had never fulfilled before in England colours.

 

As if all this wasn’t enough, one of England’s best bowlers, Jofra Archer, was injured, weakening their pace attack significantly. England entered the tournament confident, having won a major trophy the previous year. However, they also entered it with many problems.

What exactly went wrong?

Even with the issues we discussed, this side had enough quality to at least make it to the knockouts.

But during the tournament, three new issues emerged.

 

• The first was a clear case of poor strategy. Inconsistent selection was already an existing issue, but in this tournament, it reached a new low. Vital players, such as Moeen Ali, were dropped in the middle of the campaign.

The worst of these bad decisions came in the match against South Africa, where all-rounders were left out, resulting in a humiliating 229-run defeat.

 

• The second issue was Jos Buttler’s captaincy. His performance was far below the standards he and his team had set for themselves.

Jos Buttler is an incredible player. He came into the World Cup as the top scorer in the 2021–23 Test World Cup. However, His poor toss decision cost England the match against India, as choosing to bowl first meant that the team was completely wiped out by the heat of Lucknow.

 

When Moeen was dropped, the first and second issues overlapped because Moeen is Buttler’s second-in-command. Buttler relies on his vice-captain as a communication outlet for the team. Without this, the squad lacked much-needed guidance.

However, it is important to note that simply changing the coach or captain may not be the answer. 

 

• The third and final issue is probably the biggest reason for England’s downfall, some truly awful individual performances.

The team’s main bowler, Chris Woakes, did not have nearly enough impact to compensate for Archer’s absence. Veteran batsmen like Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and Buttler himself underperformed massively. The poor start against New Zealand may have shattered confidence, leading to these subpar performances. 

Conclusion

So, is this the end of England cricket? That would be a rash conclusion. The team is still missing a key player, Jofra Archer, and they continue to shine in Test cricket with Bazball. On top of that, they have a five-month gap to regroup and rethink their approach to white-ball cricket. So, there really is no reason to lose all hope, although England fans have every right to be disappointed.
Cricket remains unpredictable. Sometimes, it’s all about how you play your cards. Or, in this case, your players.