S Kannan in New Delhi
For a champion side, one loss can be an aberration, two bizarre, and a hat-trick of setbacks a nightmare. But that’s what English cricket now has to confront after Jos Buttler’s men waved the white flag at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in just 59 overs, against a Sri Lankan side that had begun the ICC World Cup with three straight losses.
The much-talked about Bazball has transformed England’s Test fortunes, and the defending champions – who also won the T20 World Cup in Australia last November – arrived in India to much fanfare. But instead of piling on the runs at breakneck speed, they now look on the ruins of a campaign which has seen losses to New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
In the good old days, English touring squads would complain of Delhi belly, pollution and what not. This time, there are few such excuses. Even the loss to Afghanistan, who debuted in the World Cup only in 2015, was a proper hiding. Buttler does not know where to turn and must be wondering how Eoin Morgan led the core of this side to a title triumph four years ago at home.
Given the wealth of IPL experience that several of England’s stalwarts have, such an unravelling was unthinkable. Bookmakers had touted them to do well, even though most of the hype surrounded India, the hosts. On paper, this was a side which had the talent to score big, especially on relatively placid Indian pitches, and that makes this losing streak even more glaring.
The pitches have been blameless, and the schedule, especially compared to Australia and India, was kind, with matches against Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the first half of the tournament. But each time things have gone awry, England have folded. Their World Cup campaigns on the subcontinent in 1996 and 2011 were also shambolic, but they could fly back home and hide their faces after those because the expectations were so low.
This time, they will be put through the wringer. Journalists, former England cricketers-turned-columnists and fans have all started lampooning England. The bemusement that accompanied the defeat to Afghanistan will give way to acerbic criticism, especially with England’s fate in the tournament as good as sealed.
Before this match began, much of the social-media focus was on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s ‘vote of confidence’ in Babar Azam, whose goose appears to be cooked unless he can somehow engineer a miraculous passage to the last four. Unlike Babar, Buttler has plenty of credit in the back, but so clueless has England’s title defence been that the suits at Lord’s are bound to ask some uncomfortable questions.
More than anything, England’s struggles have exposed the lack of preparation and a coherent strategy. They played just 42 ODIs between World Cups – India had 66 games – and only six of those were in Asia. In this tournament, they have lurched between selecting all-rounders, and going back to specialists. But in the midst of all that, how does one explain the run-out of Joe Root?
As for the match itself on Thursday, collapsing for 156 in 33.2 overs on a pitch that hid no demons was something you would expect from one of the less-established sides. But not many are calling Afghanistan or Netherlands minnows any more. Instead, it’s England – sent on a leather-hunt by South Africa in Mumbai and then dismantled by unheralded Sri Lankan pacers – who have looked like novices.
Thursday’s scorecard read like one from a World Cup match held maybe four decades ago, when the gap between cricket’s haves and have-nots was stark. At a time when India’s all-round skills and calmness, South Africa’s intent to score nearly 400 every innings and Australia’s revival have garnered headlines, England have bombed at the box office
They needed someone to step up, and deliver a heroic knock or spell that will save some face. In Root, Buttler and Ben Stokes, not to mention Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood, they have the quality. That we haven’t seen it yet is baffling. The bowling too has looked ragged, not rugged. Pace and spin have been equally ineffective.
For England, the next two matches could be even bigger nightmares, against India and then Australia, the arch-rivals. Buttler and Matthew Mott can only hope that hurt pride galvanises the team before those challenges. It’s highly unlikely that captain, coach or team members will read the British tabloid headlines on Friday morning. The obits are being readied, even as England’s net run rate of (-1.63) leaves you rubbing your eyes in disbelief.