The current ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 competition, being held in India, is not going well for England, the defending ICC ODI World Champions. Three of Jos Buttler’s team’s first four league games have resulted in losses. And it can be said that two of those defeats were humiliating.
They began by losing badly to New Zealand on October 5, the opening day of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad. After needing 283 runs to win, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra struck brilliant centuries, and New Zealand won in 36.2 overs with 9 wickets.
In their match against Bangladesh in Dharamshala, England triumphed by 137 runs over the Tigers. Joe Root scored eighty-two runs and Dawid Malan amassed a century. Then, though, came the biggest shock of the World Cup so far, as Afghanistan deceived England by 69 runs in Delhi. England batted down Afghan spinners, needing 284 runs, but they had no answers.
However, their most painful and humiliating defeat came against South Africa, where they were crushed by 399 in Mumbai before losing to England 100/8. In the end, England lost by 229 runs after being bowled out for 170.
England’s way to ICC World Cup 2023 semifinals:
England, with only two points from four matches, is ranked ninth in the CWC 2023 points standings with a net run rate of -1.248. England is aware of how slim their chances are of finishing in the top four of the ICC World Cup 2023 and qualifying for the semi-finals. If the Jos Buttler-led team doesn’t drop a single game going forward, they could still finish in the top four.
If they win their remaining five games, they can now reach a maximum of 12 points. Furthermore, 12 points might just be sufficient to guarantee a third- or fourth-place result in the league standings. However, England’s chances of making it to the semi-finals could be severely harmed by one more loss here.
Right now, five teams are able to score more than 12 points: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Pakistan. In the World Cup, England still has to play Australia, India, and Pakistan. They will also be able to keep themselves in the competition if they are able to stop all three of these teams from scoring more than twelve points.
The standings are the same for Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England, and Afghanistan, with two points apiece from four games. As long as they continue to win, they will remain in the race for the knockouts. However, a single defeat will automatically eliminate them from the competition.
So, this was all about the ICC World Cup 2023. Also read, ODI World Cup: Rating second week’s captaincy performance.