England face uphill battle for World Cup redemption

Less burdened by pressure, Sri Lanka are capable of springing a surprise

By Ayaz Memon

Published: Wed 25 Oct 2023, 9:11 PM

Last updated: Thu 26 Oct 2023, 10:09 AM

A shock defeat to Afghanistan followed by a brutal hammering by South Africa has riled England’s prospects of defending their title in the Cricket World Cup. In their first match, it might be recalled, they were thumped by New Zealand.

Touted as joint favourites with India when the tournament began, England are now wallowing at the bottom of the points table. Technically, three defeats in four matches doesn’t rule them out of contention for a place in the semis just yet, but it will be all uphill from here.

Four of their five remaining league matches involve major teams, all past World Cup champions, who will test Jos Buttler’s team to the hilt. They are front-runners India, rejuvenated Australia, mercurial Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who may be below full strength because of injuries, but have the capacity to surprise the best.

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From where can England find redemption in this beleaguered situation?

There is no simple solution since the team is struggling on too many fronts. Key players skipper Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes have been below par.

Reece Topley, who was enjoying a reasonable tournament, has had to return home because of injury. Moeen Ali had a mediocre start and has since been overlooked.

Perhaps the most disappointing has been talismanic Ben Stokes, who was the stellar player in England’s triumph in 2019.

Having `unretired’ to play this tournament, Stoker’s contribution has been negligible. He skipped the first three matches to get himself fit for the second half of the tournament. Then after the defeat to Afghanistan created a crisis, Stokes played against South Africa but made no impact.

England will look to Adil Rashid to use his guile and control to pick up wickets and keep Sri Lanka’s run-scoring in check.

This has confounded picking the best playing XI, compounded by players unable to adjust to the conditions swiftly, and worsened by niggles and injuries.

To an extent, Sri Lanka suffer from similar problems. But they have shown far greater competitive zeal so far, and being less burdened by pressure than England, they are capable of springing a surprise.

Kusal Mendis, the dashing batsman and captain, can take the game away from the opponents if he spends enough time in the middle.