World Cup 2023 | How Can England Still Qualify For The Semi-Finals?

image-lo5epdfmEngland have just won a solitary match in this World Cup (AP Photo)

Treating the challenging One-Day International format with an afterthought at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, England have suffered the worst fate at the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. The defending champions, who entered the marquee tournament as serious contenders to retain the crown, are now on the verge of elimination halfway through their campaign. 

Jos Buttler and company have clinched just a solitary win from their four encounters of the league stage and lost badly to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa. The defeat against Afghanistan being among the most remarkable upsets witnessed in World Cup history only exposed England's soft underbelly.

The attacking brand of batsmanship that England came to be associated with has acted as a barrier to their progression on Indian surfaces. Their inability to readjust the approach to pitches in the subcontinent and failure to showcase a robust style as a batting unit has given oppositions greater wicket-taking opportunities and pulled the scoring envelope back.


How England Can Still Qualify 

Once unable to post totals substantially above par, the 2019 champions have had their perennially vulnerable bowling unit treated with absolute disdain by opposition batting units. It's a problem that could only worsen in the coming games as in-form pacer Reece Topley returns home with an injury. 

Given the current World Cup follows a format that entails a stiff ten-way race to bag the four semifinal spots, England stand on the verge of an early exit from the competition. Buttler's men are one shy from the bottom of the pile with only a solitary win and enduring a massive NRR dent from their loss against South Africa. 

The Proteas hammered the Englishmen at their own game, piling on a jaw-dropping 399/7 on a flat pitch at the iconic Wankhede Stadium before crushing the vaunted opposition batting unit under the scoring-rate pressure for 170 all out. England's NRR after that result is -1.24. 

Set to play Sri Lanka next on Thursday (October 26) with matches against India (October 29), England (November 4), Netherlands (November 8) and Pakistan (November 11) to follow, England not only have to secure major victories in their remaining matches but also hope that other results do them a huge favour.