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Lucknow has a history of besieged Englishman fighting against the odds but the white flag of surrender was hoisted long ago in this World Cup campaign.
India’s 100-run victory on Sunday night (AEDT) was hard for a shattered England to swallow because they thought they were in with a chance at the halfway stage after a decent bowling performance restricted their target to a very gettable 230. “We fancied ourselves” admitted Jos Buttler. It was not to be.
Another batting collapse of 4-9 ripped the heart out of their top order and condemned them to a fourth World Cup loss in a row for the first time. Mohammed Shami, 4-22, and Jasprit Bumrah, 3-32, were just too hot for broken batsmen to handle.
The walls of the Lucknow Residency still bear the pockmarks of cannon shot from the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the comparison between ragged, desperate English is apt after a torrid few weeks for Buttler’s men, who are five defeats from six.
Buttler now drags his defeated troops to Ahmedabad to face the old enemy, Australia, who can deliver a galling finishing touch. Australia will knock them out with a victory and also push England to the brink of elimination for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which requires them to finish in the top eight to qualify.
Not many were aware of that final scenario because England never imagined being in this desperate position at the bottom of the table. It is an extraordinary outcome for double world champions.
England were skittled for 129 in 35 overs, sparking a huge firework display that lit up the Ekana stadium and thrilled the blue-shirted masses of Indian fans. This was about as partisan as you can get in sport: 50,000 cheering every Indian moment, falling silent whenever England took a wicket or hit a boundary.
Mostly it was loud cheering, especially when India bowled. England’s run chase was over in a flash: Bumrah bowled Dawid Malan off an inside edge then knocked over Joe Root first ball, while Shami cleaned up Stokes for a 10-ball duck and had Jonny Bairstow playing on. At 4-39, it was game over. Hope evaporated when Buttler was bowled through the gate by Kuldeep Yadav for 10 off 23 balls.
The two heroes of the 2019 final are in tatters. Stokes started unfit and is averaging 16 from three innings, walking off open-mouthed after this ugly innings, while Buttler is averaging 17.50 and carrying the weight of World Cup failure on his shoulders. The others are not much better. Root is averaging 29 with a run of scores of 11, 3, 2 and zero and Bairstow 23.50.
They really have no chance when that happens. The only real bulldog spirit was provided by David Willey with three for 45 and two sixes. That the player in the World Cup squad without a central contract is their best performer speaks volumes for what has gone wrong.
England’s siege mentality would not have been helped overnight by former captain Eoin Morgan hinting at trouble in the camp by saying there has to be “something else going on” other than bad form.
Mohammed Shami celebrates with wicket of Moeen Ali.Credit: AP
Perhaps the contract wrangles had a bigger effect than imagined, or maybe Buttler is just not the man to lift a losing team, especially alongside a coach in Matthew Mott whose natural inclination is to defer to the captain and stay in the background. He is a bit like Trevor Bayliss in that respect, except he had Morgan as captain. The strong leadership of the Bazball Test team is markedly absent.
England rallied with the ball, Buttler making a brave call on “gut feel” by inserting India because he wanted to make them set a total for the first time in the tournament. Willey and Chris Woakes recognised the slow surface and dragged back their lengths, mixing up cross-seamers and slower balls to make scoring hard for India’s free-flowing players.
Willey landed the biggest of them all when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a nine-ball duck and gave his all, chipping in with further wickets, dismissing KL Rahul to break a 91-run stand with Rohit Sharma in the first over of his second spell. He added Suryakumar Yadav just as he looked dangerous in the final overs. Woakes was much more consistent and Adil Rashid bowled with good control and turn to offer decent back up. Rohit was the danger man but even he could not find his range on a two-paced pitch, slowing up and falling for 81 when he holed out off Rashid.
This is a fine India seam attack, boasting three outstanding pace bowlers, and with England’s confidence so fragile, it would not take much to push them over, as became apparent after Bumrah made the breakthrough bowling Malan.
Mark Wood is bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.Credit: Getty Images
The Root dismissal next ball summed up England’s tournament. Bumrah angled one in and Root missed trying to work to leg and reviewed a plumb leg-before. This most level of sportsmen was raging when it was upheld despite a small flicker on ultra edge suggesting he may have got some bat on ball, but it was not conclusive enough to overturn the decision.
Bumrah was on a hat-trick but had to wait for the first ball of his next over, which Bairstow nervously played out. But it was brief respite as the big guns fell silent again for England. Liam Livingstone top scored with 27 but even his end was grim, reviewing an lbw that hit middle stump. Moeen Ali nicked Shami behind for 15 as his poor World Cup continued.
This cannot go on. England must make changes against Australia and if that means axing one of the big names then so be it because blind loyalty is getting them nowhere.
The Telegraph, London
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