Current champions' poor show: What are the reasons for England's failure in the ongoing World Cup?

Defending champions England, despite being a strong team in the 2023 World Cup, is performing poorly. ETV Bharat's Kumara Subramanya S analyses the reasons behind England currently languishing at the boom of the points table with just one win from three matches.

Hyderabad:In 2019, England defeated New Zealand on a boundary count to win the ODI World Cup. They are playing in the current World Cup with more or less the same team. However, the England team is struggling to achieve success. In the ongoing World Cup, the team which has recorded only one victory against Bangladesh in four matches is lying at the bottom of the table. They have just two points.

Before the start of the World Cup, England, who was one of the favourites to lift the coveted Trophy, World Cup, were showing good performance in batting and bowling. However, after three losses, the road to the semi-final has become extremely difficult for the Jos Buttler-led side. After losing by 229 runs against South Africa at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, skipper Jos Buttler said, "The pressure is on us to win these (the remaining) five matches". However, merely securing five wins in the remaining games would not be enough but they will need to have a strong net run rate.

In the inaugural match of the ongoing World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, England scored 282 runs with contributions from Joe Root (77) and Jos Buttler (43). But New Zealand chased this target with nine wickets in hand. In the second match, England bounced back against Bangladesh and scored 364 runs courtesy of a blistering hundred by Dawid Malan. However, England suffered a collapse in the game too as they lost six wickets for just 57 runs. However, Jos Buttler England registered a 137-run victory.

Then England suffered a shocking defeat against minnows Afghanistan at the Kotla in New Delhi. Their batters capitulated in front of Afghanistan spinners. Barring Harry Brook (66), no England batter showed spine, as they were bundled out for 215.

On Saturday, October 21, England's batters failed once again against South Africa. First their bowlers leaked runs and were taken to task by the South African batters, led by centurion Heinrich Klaasen, who blazed his way to 109 runs off 67 balls. Their batters surrendered before the South African attack and the team was bowled out for 170 as they suffered a massive defeat, which also dented their net run rate.

The reasons for England's dismal show: Struggling batters in ODIs: England adopted the 'Bazball' strategy in Tests and practised to score quickly. Batters hammered towering sixes in the five-day format. But in the ODIs, the same players are struggling.

Failure of openers: Johnny Bairstow and Dawid Malan conjured 115 runs stand against Bangladesh, but they failed to stitch a 50-run partnership in the remaining matches. Johnny Bairstow has just scored 97 runs including a half-century in four innings and this is one of the prime reasons for England's failure.

Absence and failure of star all-rounder Ben Stokes: England's star-all-rounder and go-to man Ben Stokes missed the team's first three games as he was recovering from an injury. Finally, he played against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium. But in that game, he was dismissed for just five runs. Stokes played a vital role in the 2019 World Cup and always bailed the team out of trouble. However, 32-year-Stokes failed to deliver against South Africa. However, expectations are high for Ben Stokes in the remaining five league matches.

Bowling is not clicking: England bowlers have conceded 1,193 runs in four matches. The abject failure of bowlers is also playing a key role in the team's poor performance. Currently, the defending champions England is under pressure to win all their remaining games. Next, they take on Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on October 26.