England knocked out of World Cup 2023 before Netherlands and Afghanistan, might not qualify for Champions Trophy 2025

England, the defending champions, have not played up to their potential in the Cricket World Cup 2023. Their problems seem unsolvable as they have given up in most of the games without putting up a decent fight.

They are languishing at the bottom of the points table, and their situation worsened with their loss to Australia on Saturday. Now, they face the real danger of not qualifying for the next Champions Trophy, which will be hosted by Pakistan in 2025.

A team doesn’t become a bad team overnight. If you look deep enough, you will see the signs of things falling apart for a long time. The entire build-up or journey that England pursued to this World Cup tells us that they made mistakes with their selection and preparation. The worst part is that they failed to understand that there was a problem before it blew out of proportion.

It’s too late now, at least as far as their World Cup hopes are concerned. Everything looks too late and gloomy for the most miserable team of the 2023 World Cup. Winning looks far away; now, the only thing they are aiming for is survival.

Over-dependency on test players for miracles in ODIs 

Of course, Joe Root is a supreme player, and Stokes is a savior. But what is their role in the team, considering how much ODI cricket they have played in the last four years? Reputation doesn’t win you games; only experience and willingness do.

Both Root and Stokes found their way back into the team because they carry the high reputation of established English cricketers. In reality, they have been mostly playing test cricket, enjoying their time, and not giving enough consideration to ODIs. If your team badly needs players who haven’t played one-day format games to defend the Cricket World Cup, it is a clear indication that there is a shortage of players.

No matter how good a player is, the shift from test cricket to ODIs is never easy. England played Australia, South Africa, and Bangladesh before coming into World Cup 2023. Looking back, it is a good question to ask the management how many of those players have participated in ODI World Cup games. Not many.

The outcome of this mismanagement is that these guys haven’t played enough games together to have any sort of match-winning chemistry.

England without plan, what else you expect 

The second big reason is simply a lack of planning. As a team, you gotta have a plan, and you gotta know how to execute it exactly. England has failed on both fronts. They have struggled against spinners at large, second only to Netherlands, who average 20 against spinners. Coming to India to defend the World Cup title, how unprepared a team looks, not focusing to strengthen their game against spinners.

Strike rotation is another thing that has played a big role in England’s downfall. Even the best of players have a good if not great strike rotation ability. What about English players? They have their own way of playing, which is to play as many dot balls as possible and inwardly circulate the pressure so the next batter has nothing to do except lose his hands. Nothing great about this approach; it’s just a schoolboy error, as Moeen Ali mentioned after England’s loss to Australia.

A team without intent is a team without momentum 

Where there is no intent, there is no positive result. Soaking up pressure is definitely a good way to go, but going back into a shell and allowing the bowler to do whatever he wants is just not acceptable. The value of intent is that it allows a batter to build momentum and later on earn all the rewards.

England has not only failed to show intent but has gone negative about their business. A batter shows no intent, and ultimately, the other one loses control and reacts carelessly. Especially a player like Ben Stokes, who is as good as anyone in the world, but the team’s objective has to come first before anything else.

Whether you’re chasing or batting first, as a senior responsible player, you have to know where your team should be rather than your individual score. That has big significance in big games. Once again, soaking up pressure never means losing all the intent.

England is out of the tournament. There is a lot of talk about the “end of an era,” and then there is incessant justification of their performance, leaving everything on coach Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler.

Jos Buttler under-pressure without his players 

In the last 18 months, England has lost to South Africa twice, to Australia, and to India; all in ODIs. This appears like an illusion that some players are going with to keep their place alive in the team. Jos Buttler hasn’t performed well, but he has been honest about what has unfolded for his side in the World Cup.

If Jos Buttler were allowed to choose the team, he would have never gone with Joe Root and Ben Stokes at 3 and 4, which are foundational positions to bat in ODIs. For example, despite being such a wonderful test player, Marnus Labuschagne had to prove his place in the team with impressive performances. He didn’t walk to the selectors and have his place fixed. It took some hard work for him even though he was part of the Australian ODI setup in the last few months.

On the other hand, England was begging Ben Stokes to come out of retirement and win them the World Cup. What about those other guys who were playing for England and did a good job at their positions? Atherton is right about Brooks; he should get a chance. He was the only batter who looked confident even in losses.

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Yet somehow, he was dropped and never found his way back. Young talents are very good in these conditions, perfecting nurturing environment for them as they don’t have much responsibility on their shoulders. They could be fearless and unstoppable.

To conclude, the downfall of England was clearly visible in the way they approached this World Cup. Not focusing on ODI games at all and suddenly calling it the end of an era sums it up perfectly well. Most of the English players are above 30, so they won’t be playing the next World Cup for sure.

But what about those players who have played ODI games for England in the last 12 months, played in domestic List A games, yet missed the opportunity because established names who played only test games got the chance.

England needs to make some serious changes to their ODI setup if they want to reclaim their former glory. They need to focus on developing young talent and giving them opportunities to play at the highest level. They also need to be more strategic in their selection and preparation for ODI tournaments.