England’s lurching between assault and defence leaves them in no man’s land

The gentle on the finish of the tunnel was a prepare. England have spent the final 4 weeks travelling round India speaking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the assertion efficiency that has by no means arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa had been dangerous, this might need been the worst of the lot.

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was a venue that ought to have suited England completely. In the primary of 5 efficient must-win video games, they selected to bat first on a flat pitch with quick boundaries, rattled alongside to 44 for 0 after six overs and will lastly afford to dream large: would 350 be sufficient to flatten Sri Lanka, or ought to they eye 400?

England had been 146 for 8 by the point of Maheesh Theekshana’s leg-side broad to David Willey within the thirty second over of their innings, but what adopted encapsulated their World Cup up to now. Kusal Mendis shuffled throughout, took the ball cleanly and was pulling off his proper glove when he noticed that Adil Rashid was out of his floor on the non-striker’s finish.

Mendis’ dead-eye throw discovered Rashid in need of his floor and as Adrian Holdstock despatched the choice upstairs, everybody concerned knew precisely what had occurred. It was a second of ingenuity, ability and, above all, self-confidence – three traits that England have sorely lacked over the past three weeks.

Once, England had been masters of rotating the strike and milking spin by the center overs. Now, they appear to lurch between assault and defence, and have misplaced extra wickets to spin (22) than some other crew on this event; their batters have managed 5 50-plus scores between them, the fewest of any crew.

Stokes briefly threatened to play the form of saviour innings that England anticipated when he declared himself accessible for the World Cup two months in the past. He was given out lbw whereas reverse-sweeping Theekshana after eking out 13 off his first 36 balls, however when a skinny backside edge saved him on evaluation he began to grind by the gears.

He cracked Dilshan Madushanka for 3 pulled fours by midwicket, and dragged Dhananjaya de Silva’s offspin into the identical route. But as he step by step ran out of companions, Stokes determined it was time to take issues into his personal fingers: he lined up the higher tier when swinging exhausting at Kumara’s sharp bouncer, and picked out substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha, simply off the rope.

With England getting ready to elimination, Stokes whole contribution for the event reads 48 runs off 81 balls and two catches. His return from harm – whereas solely match sufficient to play as a specialist batter – meant they picked an imbalanced aspect in Mumbai, then dropped their finest younger participant in Harry Brook in Bengaluru. His retirement U-turn was meant to resolve issues for England, however has solely created them.

In the sphere, England had been on a hiding to nothing with such a low whole to defend. It was cruelly becoming that the one bowler to have any actual affect, Willey, was not deemed ok to function 4 years in the past and is the one member of this squad who was not supplied one of many profitable central contracts that had been introduced two days earlier than this defeat.

England positioned their religion of their golden technology, bringing them again collectively for one final tilt at an ICC occasion after a interval of unprecedented success which implies they’re – nonetheless – the holders of each white-ball World Cups. After the triumphs of 2019 on house soil and 2022 in Australia, 2023 in India has proved one event too far.

The youngest participant they picked on Thursday was Livingstone, who turned 30 in August and has managed 31 runs throughout 4 innings: England banked on the worth of expertise, however their gamers have regarded outdated and jaded. In the best custom of England’s nice sporting groups, they’ve fallen aside step by step, then all of the sudden.

This was England’s fifth straight World Cup defeat to Sri Lanka and ranks among the many very worst of these – even when there have been loads of grisly drubbings alongside the way in which. Sri Lanka had been lacking their captain, their finest quick bowler and their first-choice spinner – and even at full power, this isn’t a aspect to rival the 2007 or 2011 vintages.

Yet it proved greater than ok to comfortably outplay a once-great England crew, to the extent that Pathum Nissanka’s lofted straight six to clinch the factors got here in simply the twenty sixth over. It was such an early end – wrapped up by half previous seven – {that a} lengthy evening of soul-searching awaits.

There will not be even the comfort of an early return house: England nonetheless have 4 inner flights to catch, 4 inns to examine into, 4 video games to play. Next up? The runaway leaders, India, in Lucknow on Sunday. Perhaps the worst continues to be to come back.