Can England Still Qualify For World Cup 2023 Semis After Defeat To SL? 

image-lo7fjthqA dejected Jos Buttler walking back after dismissal against SL (AP)

England’s title-defense at the 2023 World Cup has been marred by a series of abysmal performances, with Jos Buttler and co. losing out four of their first five fixtures. One of those defeats include an eight-wicket larruping at the hands of an injury-ravaged Sri Lankan side.

Moreover, Buttler’s troops were also upstaged by a spirited Afghanistan unit in Delhi and later coped a 229-run pasting from South Africa.

In spite of their recent adversities, England remains in contention for a spot in the semi-finals. However, just winning all their remaining matches might not be enough as they also need certain permutations and combinations from other fixtures to align in their favor.

As Jos Buttler and co. brace themselves for the second half of the tournament, here at OneCricket, we take a look at how the defending champions can still secure a top four finish in the coming weeks.

World Cup 2023 semi-final qualification scenarios for England

After five rounds of World Cup 2023 matches, England find themselves placed at number nine on the points table, trailing even the likes of Bangladesh and Afghanistan on NRR merit. The solitary win they secured over Bangladesh early this month earned them their only set of two points so far in the tournament.

In a bid to surge up the table by November 12 match day, Jos Buttler and co., evidently, needs to win all their remaining fixtures and need to win them big. As far as other results are concerned, here is a list of possible outcomes that need to go their way:

  • New Zealand, currently on eight points, need to lose all their remaining matches while England needs to win their share of fixtures to leapfrog the ‘Black Caps’ with 10 points.
  • Active table-toppers India needs to win three of their remaining four, losing only to England on October 29, while South Africa need to defeat everyone in their way except the tournament hosts. The aforementioned results will allow England to storm into the semi-finals alongside India and South Africa.
  • England needs to hope Ashes rivals Australia beat New Zealand but lose to others, which will subsequently limit their points to eight.
  • England would also hope for Pakistan to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand and for Sri Lanka to defeat New Zealand and Afghanistan while losing other fixtures to have their set of points restricted to eight.
  • With five teams with eight points each fighting among each other for the fourth semi-final spot, the defending champions will find themselves firmly placed at number three if all results go their way.

For now, England team’s destiny is in its own hands as they need to hand unbeaten India their first defeat of the tournament to revive their campaign.

The two white-ball titans are slated to clash on October 29 and the blockbuster showdown will be played out at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.