MANCHESTER: If they fail to qualify for the semifinals, England’s exit from the league stage will be the biggest upset of this World Cup. World No 1 before the start and home favorites who had mastered the craft of batting in this format, they were the team to beat before the ball started rolling.
To a lesser extent, the competition has seen another team which has fallen short of expectations. The West Indies had promised much before coming to England.
One team with supporters all over the cricket world, they had also raised hopes of a revival of sorts. But after a winning start, everything has gone wrong for them.
Still on one win from six matches, they are more or less out of the reckoning for a ticket to the next stage.
Close losses, batting debacles, bowlers not up to it --- the reasons are as varied as can be. If they let opportunities slip against Australia, batsmen were a letdown against England, while the bowlers failed to defend 321 against Bangladesh.
They can still register a win, but other than being party poopers, the legends of celebrations can hope for little else. That Chris Gayle is not going to retire is negligible as consolation under the circumstances.
“We've shown glimpses here and there what we can produce. As a side we just haven't brought it together collectively more often than not. And it's hurt us. It's a situation where learning must take place.
I think it's significant for everybody just to draw on their own resources and look at themselves in the mirror and try to make sure that learning takes place,” said captain Jason Holder, stressing on ‘learning’ which seems to be a rather disliked word in his team.
It was after some time that the two-time champions came to the World Cup with resources looking formidable in batting and bowling.
Other than Gayle, there was Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, who all had shown that they can do well against strong sides.
And in Sheldon Cottrell, Kemar Roach and Oshane Thomas, there was serious pace in bowling. What undid them was the inability to come together as a unit, where the parts complement each other.
“As I said on numerous occasions, we just didn't take the crucial moments. We've had lots of close encounters. With the exception of the game where we were outplayed by England, in all the other games we had a chance to win.
"We’ve got some good young players and they've got to set up games and learn to close them out. Great young players get themselves in, set themselves up and they go very, very big,” said Holder when asked what has gone wrong.
A short distance away from where Holder was talking, Michael Holding was talking to the official broadcasters. He looked relaxed as he usually does. One of the pillars of the team that ruled cricket, he has got too used to the plight of the side to lose sleep over it.