Last Updated on 11 months by Charbel Coorey
ENG vs SL Reactions: England fans slam The Hundred after another horror show | England fans react to another disappointing performance at the 2023 World Cup
England have produced another awful display in the 2023 World Cup, with their latest defeat an eight-wicket drubbing with 146 balls remaining against Sri Lanka at Bengaluru. England, whose World Cup defence is all but over, limped to 156 courtesy of a combination of some putrid cricket and an excellent Sri Lankan display, before the Lions chased the target with ease.
Jos Buttler’s side started off well in good batting conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, racing to 45 without loss in 6.2 overs. However, from there, it was a combination of panic and lunacy, highlighted most in the soft dismissals of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in particular. Ben Stokes then tried his best to produce a Stokes classic, but he was fighting a lost cause as the Sri Lankan attack had their measure.
Lahiru Kumara produced one of his best spells in ODI cricket with 3/35. But, it was Angelo Mathews’ 120km/h medium pacers that surprised the most, with the 36-year old taking a wicket with his third ball of the tournament before finishing with 2/14 off five overs. There was also wonderful fielding and catching from the Sri Lankans, who set things up perfectly for a fifth-straight win over England in ODI World Cups.
After an early wobble thanks to David Willey’s solid opening spell, Pathum Nissanka, who hit his fourth-straight fifty, combined with the equally-impressive Sadeera Samarawickrama to put on an unbroken stand of 137 to cruise to the target. The result moved Sri Lanka into fifth and just two points behind Australia; an excellent effort given all the injuries they have.
ENG vs SL Reactions: Attention quickly moves to The Hundred & England’s poor preparation
England have now lost four from five in this World Cup to sit second-last with a net run rate of -1.634. All four of their defeats have been thrashings, starting with New Zealand and then filtering through to Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
So, where is it all going wrong? Some point to the ageing nature of the squad, but many believe that the lack of priority placed on the 50-over format has hurt England. Not only do England not play as many ODIs anymore, but the onset of The Hundred is believed to make adjusting to the longer format all-the-more difficult.
“Preparation for the World Cup 0/10. Performance in the World Cup 0/10. Anyone see the correlation?”, one fan tweeted. “Ditch the Hundred. The pointless pointless uninteresting Hundred,” said another.
