Image Credit- AP
What about this whole “attacking champions”
thing? Despite only being kept off the bottom of the table by Bangladesh’s
crushing loss to South Africa on Tuesday, England are not quite at the point of
no return, despite Jos Buttler’s regrettable statement that they wouldn’t be
“trying to defend anything” out in India appearing to come true
uncomfortably quickly. Lions in a corner, anyone?
Even before taking into account England’s recent slump
in ODI performance, peeling off five straight victories to achieve 12
points—which would require defeating India on their own turf—seems like a
difficult task. However, if the miraculous resurrection is going to begin
anywhere, it must begin on Thursday in Bengaluru against fellow laggard Sri
Lanka.
The sun was beating down on England in Mumbai during
that historic South African thrashing while, several hundred kilometres to the
north and during that same time period, Sri Lanka was quietly making their way
onto the World Cup scoreboard. They ended a crippling run of three straight
losses with a five-wicket victory over Netherlands. Expectations weren’t as
high, but like England, they’ve found themselves in a tough spot after getting
hammered by South Africa for a record World Cup total in their opening match
and then losing a record World Cup chase against Pakistan.
These teams have a rich World Cup past as well. The
last World Cup champions to lose their first game were Sri Lanka, who were
defeated by the hosts (yes, England) in 1999. That was before England faltered
against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. But since then, Sri Lanka has won all four
games in the competition and five of the last six, inflicting cruel lessons on
opponents in Faisalabad, Colombo, and Wellington.
What can we anticipate this time? After three
humiliating defeats, England are undeniably in trouble, and it will take a
confidence trick of significant significance to turn things around. They have
attempted to shrug off failure, “let it hurt,” and the tried-and-true
“go harder” adages. Outsiders may not have noticed much of a
difference since Matthew Mott took over the white-ball teams in mid-2022
(during which time they have, of course, added a T20 World Cup to their trophy
cabinet), but some motivation is now needed if this campaign is not to be
compared to the worst of their dreadful run between 1996 and 2015.