World Cup 2019: Tracing England's downfall from pre-World Cup favourites to stuttering for a semi-final spot

There are two games left for England. And those are against India and New Zealand who are only the two teams to remain unbeaten till now. England would have to win at least one game to not let their fortunes be dependent on other teams. It is rather ironic that a team that was expected to dominate the tournament is fighting for survival at the half-way stage.

So, what's gone wrong for England suddenly? Jason Roy's injury? Yes, this is certainly one of the reasons for England struggling. Any team would struggle if someone as prolific as Roy gets injured, considering the fact that he has scored 1691 runs in 34 matches at an average of 52.84 since the Champions Trophy in 2017. He has become the engine room for England's batting line-up given that he sets the tempo for England's attacking brand of cricket.

Alex Hales' repeated indiscretions also threw a spanner in England's preparations because they had to resort to James Vince as the team's reserve opener. For all his exploits in Hampshire colours, Vince has struggled to replicate that in international cricket.

Jonny Bairstow's poor form

Furthermore, Jonny Bairstow has been batting like his alter-ego in this tournament. Bairstow's approach has been completely different from how he played in the IPL. One could counter this by saying that these are completely different formats. However, didn't England reduce the gap in the last four years? For them, ODIs literally became an extended version of T20s. After all, they've been scoring at a rapid rate of 6.33 runs per over since the conclusion of the 2015 World Cup.

Change in England's overall approach

The entire England batting line up has been subdued over these 7 games. It has been a major surprise to see them shift from an approach that made the successful team that they have been in the last four years. Their muddled thinking has brought them to a situation where they are neither playing an attacking brand of cricket nor been able to see off difficult conditions. Only Joe Root and Ben Stokes tend to have the ability to come good on bowler-friendly pitches but the former hasn't produced such match-winning performances against Sri Lanka and Australia.

England v Australia - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Lack of games on bowler-friendly tracks

This could be attributed to the fact that England have played too much on flat decks in the last four years. This was seen even during the series against Pakistan before the World Cup. On the odd occasion when they have had to encounter even slightly unfavorable conditions, they have crumbled big time. This could also be noticed in the third ODI against South Africa at Lords in 2017, the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan and more recently the fifth ODI on their tour to West Indies in March this year. While one can't really fault lower-order batsmen, England's much-talked-about batting depth has also not delivered and come to the team's rescue. Someone like Moeen Ali has been particularly guilty of playing poor shots at crucial junctures.

Sporting tracks in the World Cup

Prior to the tournament, Indian skipper Virat Kohli conveyed his thoughts about the range of totals that he would expect in this World Cup. His opinion of totals ranging from 250-260 possibly being defendable has come true. Most of the games in this World Cup have seen sporting pitches.

This lack of ability to adapt towards different pitches seems to stem from their domestic circuit. In the 2019 Royal London One Day Cup, there were 300 or more totals on 46 occasions. So, naturally, it will be difficult for English players to suddenly adapt to and master tricky situations.

For now, this is an issue that can be discussed after the World Cup. In case England fail to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, then four years of success and being ranked the No. 1 side in the world will all end up in vain. Additionally, England compromised the health of their test team for this elusive 50-over World Cup victory. The one thing England could do now will be to go back to their old brand of cricket. After all, it would be wiser 'to live by the sword and die by the same sword' instead of throwing the sword into the sea at the business end of a marathon.

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