Casting aside their shattered title defence dream, England will now set sights on restoring their pride and secure a berth in the 2025 Champions Trophy when they face a plucky Netherlands in the World Cup in Pune on Wednesday. (Scorecard | Streaming | Full Coverage)
England ♕have cut a sorry figure, managing jusꦫt one win from seven matches in the World Cup to slip to the bottom of the 10-team table.
The 🌜Netherlands are a tad better on ninth with two wins a𒁏nd four points.
Both teams are out of the reckoning for a semifin😼al spot. The 33-run loss to arch rivals Australia on Saturday was the final nail in the coffin for England. While the Dutch are also officially out of the race.
But with ICC𝓰 announcing th🍸at the top seven teams and hosts Pakistan will qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy, there has been a scramble for the last few spots.
Champions four years ago, England have hit rock-bottom in this edition. No England team has ever lost so many games at a World Cup. Whatever could go wrong has gone wrong for the Three Lions and they are no longer favourites even against minnows Netherlan✱ds.
To avoid the ignominy of m𒐪issing the cut for the prestigious Champion𓂃s Trophy, England must win their remaining two fixtures against the Netherlands and Pakistan.
But that's easier said than done as both confidence 🃏and form has deserted the ageing England side, which looked extremely dangerous on paper.
The batting unit has failed miserably. Openers Jonny Bairstowཧ and David Malan have struggled to give the kind of start expected of them while Joe Root's famed consistency too has deserted him. Skipper Jos Buttler and the big-hitting Liam Lingsto💦ne are also woefully out of form.
For England to win, their batters need to fire.
The Eng🥃land bowling unit has performed a touch better but it is one dimensional and lacks variety. The English bowlers have bee✱n inconsistent and have struggled in the Indian conditions. Ben Stokes, who is playing as a specialist batter, not rolling his arm has compounded their woes.
With Stokes set to undergo a knee surgery and David Willey retiring from international cricket after this tournament, there have been calls to give the likes of youngsters Harry𓄧 Brook and Sam Curran gameꩲ time.
The Dutch w𝄹ill be eager to pounce on England's fraiꦆlties.
For the Netherlands, it is the golden opportunity to stake claim 🐷to the Champions Trophy spot.
The 'Orange Arm꧅y', has arguably🍎 overachieved having secured wins over the high-flying South Africa and Bangladesh at this World Cup.
A victory against England would ⛎ perhaps be the crowning glory of their wonderful campaign.
Packed with a group of all-rounders, the Netherlands have shown they are capable 🍷of winning.
Their top order and🅠 bowling department need🌸 to be more consistent.
The Netherlands may be tempted to recall Vikramjit Singh after promoting Wesley Barresi to 🍸the opening slot in the game against Afghanistan didn't work.
Squads
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c & wk), Colin Ackermann, Wesley Barresi (wk), Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Max ✱O'Dowd, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Vikramjit Singh.
