With two points each from four games, both teams England And Sri Lanka are close to the point of no return
Big picture: Retarded is desperate for points
So, how’s the whole “aggressive heroes” thing? Jos Buttler can always regret saying England “won’t try to defend anything” in India – a statement that seems to come out uncomfortably quickly – but they’re not quite on the verge of no return yet, although they’ve only been kept off the bottom of the table since Bangladesh’s crushing defeat to South Africa on Tuesday. Cornered lions, anyone?
Scoring five wins in a row to take 12 points – including giants India in their own part – seems like a daunting task, even before calculating the low point England’s ODI form has fallen to. But if the miraculous resurrection is to begin anywhere, it will be on Thursday in Bangalore against Sri Lanka.
When the sun was beating in Mumbai in England – it can get pretty hot in India, who would have thought? – During the memorable blow against South Africa, a few hundred kilometres north, Sri Lanka calmly got on the board at this World Cup, ending a crippling streak of three consecutive defeats with a five-wicket victory over the Netherlands. Expectations weren’t as high, but like England, they hung against the ropes, beaten by a World Cup record by South Africa in their opening match and then beaten by Pakistan in a record chase.
These teams also have a long history at the World Cup. Before England stumbled against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, Sri Lanka were the last defending champions to lose their opening match – in 1999 they were beaten by the hosts (yes, England). But Sri Lanka have since won all four league games and five of their last six games, sharing memorable brutal lessons in Faisalabad, Colombo and Wellington in the process
What can you expect this time? England are clearly in a hole after three bitter defeats and will need a confidence trick of considerable magnitude to turn things around. They’ve tried to ignore defeat with a shrug, they’ve tried to “make it hurt”, they’ve tried the old “let’s go harder” mantras. From the outside, Matthew Mott hasn’t had many interventions since taking over the team with a white ball in mid-2022 (at the time, of course, they added a T20 World Championship to the trophy cabinet), but now some inspiration is needed if this campaign isn’t going to tie in with the worst horror series between 1996 and 2015.
As for the selection, there are few cards left for England after the 15 players they have already ruled out – although there is hope that the upcoming Brydon Carse can prove to be a Liam Plunkett-style battering ram to increase the danger in the centre. The shot has gone more wrong than expected, with just one century and four fiftys so far, but an attack from Sri Lanka that started the tournament with scores of 428 for 5 and 345 for 4 could be more to their liking.
As far as Sri Lanka’s hopes are concerned, it is a difficult road to finish in the top four with games against India and New Zealand on the horizon. But they showed what they can do, especially through Kusal Mendis (who has taken the lead along with gloves) and Sadeera Samarawickrama with the bat, as well as Dilshan Madushanka’s ability to get the ball.
The impressive World Cup record against England won’t last, but a win would make at least one Englishman happy, as coach Chris Silverwood faces the team he coached for the second time (Sri Lanka lost a close group stage match at the T20 World Cup last year). On the ground where England drew with India in 2011 and lost to Ireland, we could even face a narrow final…
