Key takeaways from England's forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign
England ended their forgettable 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign with a 93-run win over Pakistan. As the side was studded with prominent stars, expectations were sky-high from the defending champions. However, they failed in terms of execution and lost six of their nine league games. They finished seventh in the standings. Here we decode the key takeaways from England's poor campaign.
Defeats to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka hurt England
England's victories in the competition came against Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. While they suffered thumping defeats against prominent sides like India, New Zealand, and South Africa, the shocking defeats against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka dented them even further. The inability of England players to tackle spin well hurt them on turning tracks.
Skipper Jos Buttler's poor run
Skipper Jos Buttler failed to lead from the front as he looked woefully out of touch. After scoring 43 in England's opener against New Zealand, Buttler crossed the 25-run mark only once, managing 27 against Pakistan. His scores in the tournament read 43(42), 20(10), 9(18), 15(7), 8(6), 10(23), 1(7), 5(11), and 27 (18). Buttler averaged 15.33 in the event, having slammed 138 runs.
How did the other England batters perform?
Besides Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan, none of the other England batters could perform well. After managing 70-plus scores in England's first two games, Joe Root did cross the 30-run mark in his next six outings. His tournament average reads 30.66. Harry Brook (28.16) and Jonny Bairstow (23.88) also failed to deliver consistently. All-rounders Moeen Ali and Liam Livingston averaged 15.83 and 10, respectively.
Injuries in the England camp
England were also dented by injuries as their in-form pacer Reece Topley got ruled out midway due to a broken finger. Moreover, Stokes missed the first few games due to a hip injury. Moreover, he did not bowl a single delivery in the competition due to his knee issues. Jofra Archer, who was among the traveling reserves, could not be game-ready.
Here are the best performers
Stokes (304 runs at 50.66) and Malan (404 runs at 44.88) were England's best batters at the event. Root (276 at 30.66) was the only other England batter with 220-plus runs. Adil Rashid (15 wickets at 27.53), Chris Woakes (10 wickets at 29.80), and David Willey (11 wickets at 23.54) were decent with the ball. Topley took eight wickets in three outings.
Here are the other records
As per ESPNcricinfo, England's batting average in terms of runs per wicket in the tournament read 26.41. Only Netherlands (20.66) are behind them. England were bundled out under 170 or less three times, the most for any team in the tournament. While England lost six games in the event, they did not suffer more than four defeats in any other WC edition.
