Despite arriving at the World Cup as champions in both formats of white-ball cricket, England’s title defence has been little short of a disaster, and spells the end of a special era. The team, led by Jos Buttler, has faced harsh criticism in the British media after dismal performances that have seen them win just one match out of five at the tournament.
England’s chances of retaining the ODI World Cup have all but disappeared after a disheartening eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Thursday. It left them ninth in the points table, with only mathematical hope of reaching the semi-finals.
Here, we look at the British newspaper headlines and what the sports pages said.
The Daily Mail
Headline: Shambolic England are as good as out of the Cricket World Cup – and it could get even worse – after yet another horror show for team of 30-somethings whose era looks to be over
What they said: “Never before has an ODI team been stocked purely by 30-somethings, as England were last night. The end of a few 50-over careers has just been hastened.”
The Independent
Headline: It’s time to face reality: Cricket World Cup collapse shows England are past their prime
What they said: “All the fighting talk, all the tinkering and changes, the whispers before the tournament of defending the title. Any lingering hope of qualification became all but mathematically impossible after England slid to their fourth defeat from their opening five matches.”
The Daily Mirror
Headline: Woeful England humiliated by Sri Lanka to leave World Cup defence in tatters
What they said: “England brought the curtain down on a golden generation of ODI cricket with yet another World Cup horror show – perhaps their worst of the lot.”
The Guardian
Headline: England collapse completes dismal abdication of World Cup crown
What they said: “Flakier than a freshly baked paratha on Bengaluru’s teeming Church Street and gobbled up gleefully by Sri Lanka, this England display was not so much a case of their World Cup crown slipping at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as a full‑blown abdication.”
The Telegraph
Headline: England’s World Cup chopping and changing returns them to the bad old days of the 1990s
What they said: “For a side once underpinned by stability, selection has been shambolic – leaving their World Cup defence in tatters.”