🔗 Share this article

The England team was knocked out from the World Cup after losing a match they were expected to win, due to a one-off innings which took everyone by surprise. Sound familiar? This is because it describes two incidents involving England which occurred almost exactly a year separated: on Wednesday, their ODI World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a must-win group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version.

The Interim Period

During that time, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a thorough analysis which was meant to change everything. Did it? Let’s look a little more closely into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England fell to pieces, missed multiple opportunities, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to win the day. In the latest match, a player with beautiful technique and temperament – 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. The trouble was, she had already scored 169 runs by that point.

‘This will hurt’: Edwards looks to next generation after England’s World Cup drubbing.

It probably won’t bring the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much consolation as she returns from her first World Cup as manager – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the low point of dropping eight catches in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, six months later England secured more chances this World Cup than any other team. That’s an improvement.

The Batting Collapse

The issue arose following Wolvaardt’s knock. Was there anyone inside that England dressing room really believe they were able to reach a total of more than 300? Undoubtedly no one outside it did. England’s collapse to nought for two 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 consistent enough at times,” Edwards said after the match. This highlights the problem. 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, you do the maths.

Collaborative Innings

Capsey’s century stand with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final had some value – Capsey showed that she can bat sensibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was never going to be enough to win the game. Compare and contrast with South Africa, who were able to add 117 runs from their last 10 overs, exceeding the 300-run mark, because Wolvaardt had faith in the batters coming in below her and felt she had enough freedom to hit out. “Knowing what we still had in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she explained to Sky Sports.

Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the only England batters to deliver regularly during the tournament.

Coaching Dilemmas

When Edwards was appointed in April, her challenge was whether to stick or twist: she opted to give an ageing ODI side who had bombed in the Ashes one last shot at World Cup glory. This proved incorrect. England come back with the worst of both worlds: empty-handed, and with little basis on which to rebuild 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 new strategy is now approaching, as Edwards herself signalled. “This is the end of an ODI cycle,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.”

Upcoming Talent

Better late than never: time to look seriously at the young left-hander Grace Scrivens, the young wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the teenage spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.

A persistent concern is that it might be overdue: England’s latest round of central contracts were finalized on 1 October. The cricket board has not yet released a full list of retained athletes, but it doesn’t take a genius to deduce that the existing team are the primary recipients.

Moving Forward

Lack of progress and overconfidence were the twin problems on which the Ashes whitewash was built – it’s crucial for Edwards to demonstrate that she is serious about preventing their return.