- Make no mistake, the way the England cricket team reinvented itself after their extremely embarrassing display in the 2015 World Cup must be regarded as one of the most breathtaking instances in the history of the 50-over game that simply overhauled the way the format was played till then. Team England simply enforced the old cricketing adage of attack as the best form of defense in the way it went about playing the format right from the first ball bowled. The attacking instinct was firmly enforced in all the three departments of the game viz. batting, bowling, and fielding. Right players were chosen to carry forward the attacking agenda and the results were simply spectacular post that defeat in the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
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- As you are aware, England went on to win the 2019 edition of the 50-over World Cup as the host nation quite comprehensively. Of course, the final between England and New Zealand ended more dramatically and controversially when the former was declared the winner based on the number of boundaries scored even as the scores were tied during the super over. Nonetheless, the champion side completely altered the way 50-over cricket was being played by introducing an attacking template right through. Yes, the template was followed by other teams as well which only helped the format to emerge more interesting and compelling to watch. Inexplicably, the ongoing World Cup in India has seen below-par performance from the defending champions.
- Nothing appears to be going right for the champion side boasting some of the most revered performers. The openers have consistently failed to provide a decent start even though Dawid Malan and Johny Bairstow are a formidable combination right at the top. Baistow has failed to convert starts into something substantial. The woefully out-of-touch former captain Joe Root has only further compounded the beleaguered team. Captain Jos Buttler hasn’t fired at all with the bat. The talismanic allrounder Ben Stokes has hardly played two games as a batter. Except for a battling innings of 40, he was completely bamboozled by the brilliance of Mohammed Shami in Lucknow getting bowled for a duck. The less said the better about other players in the team.
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- The bowling has been decent as can be seen by the way they restricted Team India in Lucknow for 229. Aided by superb ground fielding, England’s bowling attack did put up a great show to restrict in-form Indian batters. Unfortunately, the batting is a big letdown that would have greatly embarrassed the entire team’s pride for consistently failing to either put up a decent enough score on the board or chase the target with aplomb. To add to the miseries, England was comprehensively defeated by minnows Afghanistan in the group stage which was considered an aberration. Not the case anymore as England has fallen into a rut of losing matches shocking the cricketing fans no end. Yet another reinventing will be in the offing for Team England.
