England have been knocked out of a World Cup following a defeat in a match they were expected to win, due to a surprise performance which nobody saw coming. Does that ring a bell? This is because it describes two events involving England which took place almost exactly a year apart: recently, their 50-over semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a must-win group stage match against West Indies in the T20 version.
What Happened Next
During that time, there was a 16-0 Ashes debacle and a post-series review which was intended to overhaul the system. Did it? Time to delve a little more closely into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England collapsed, missed multiple opportunities, and allowed a bish-bash-bosh innings from Qiana Joseph to win the day. More recently, a player with superb skill and composure – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – demonstrated why she is among the elite in cricket. She gave precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England held on to it. Unfortunately, she had already scored 169 runs by that point.
‘It’s painful’: The coach turns to next generation after England’s World Cup defeat.
It probably won’t bring the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she flies home from her first World Cup as manager – she is a results driven coach, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the low point of multiple fielding errors in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, six months later England held on to more chances this World Cup than any other team. That’s an improvement.
The Batting Collapse
The problem was what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Was there anyone inside that England dressing room truly confident they were capable of chasing down a total of more than 300? Undoubtedly no one outside it did. England’s collapse to 0/2 and 1/3 sparked a reaction not of horror but of weary inevitability.
“We do need to enhance our batting performance – I don’t think it’s been reliable at times,” Edwards said after the match. Therein lies the concern. There have been eight totals of more than 300 in this tournament: three of them were hit by Australia, three by India, and two by South Africa. This is now standard in women’s ODI cricket: in order to compete with the world’s best, England need a batting order which can confidently expect to exceed that milestone. But when nobody except Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a track record of regularly making meaningful runs, well, the numbers speak for themselves.
Collaborative Innings
Capsey’s century stand with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final wasn’t entirely pointless – Capsey showed that she can play responsibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was insufficient to win the game. In comparison with South Africa, who were able to add 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had faith in the batters coming in below her and felt she had the liberty to attack. “Knowing what we still had in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she told Sky Sports.
Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the sole consistent performers to deliver regularly during the tournament.
Managerial Decisions
When Edwards was hired in April, her challenge was whether to stick or twist: she opted to give an veteran team who had bombed in the Ashes one last shot at World Cup glory. She got it wrong. England come back with the worst of both worlds: without a trophy, and with little basis on which to restructure over the next four years. Five of their top six from the semi-final are unlikely to play in another 50-over World Cup.
A change of approach is now imminent, as Edwards herself signalled. “This is the end of an ODI cycle,” she said. “We’ve got to focus ahead now.”
Upcoming Talent
It’s about time: time to look seriously at the young left-hander Grace Scrivens, the 20-year-old wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the teenage spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
A persistent concern is that it might be overdue: England’s most recent set of central contracts were signed, sealed and delivered on 1 October. The cricket board has not yet published a full list of contracted players, but it isn’t difficult to work out that the existing team are the primary recipients.
Moving Forward
Lack of progress and overconfidence were the dual enemies on which the Ashes sweep was built – it’s crucial for Edwards to demonstrate that she is serious about preventing their return.
