BENGALURU: When Harry Brook was named in England’s final 15-man World Cup squad, it didn’t come as a surprise. Jason Roy, who had served the team well in the last four-year cycle, was on a downward spiral in terms of output. In fact, the only surprise was Brook wasn’t named in the original squad. Ahead of their must-not-lose clash against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, Brook, who had played in each of the first four fixtures, was dropped.
It perhaps encapsulates why England are where they are as a team. If they won the 2019 World Cup on the back of clarity and sound thinking, their defence of the competition is in tatters because of anti-clarity. It’s been muddled thinking, decisions seemingly backed by vibes (the presence of Ben Stokes, who may have surgery to repair a troublesome knee after this event, is as vibey as it can get) and not much else.
Consider opting to field first in the baking atmosphere of Mumbai against South Africa. Jos Buttler said the team had decided to do it because Wankhede was a chasing ground. But they had overlooked one basic fact -- the venue had hosted four ODIs in the last 10 years. It’s too small a sample size over too big a time period.
What transpired on a lovely early winter afternoon in the Garden City was a continuation of England’s meek displays at the World Cup. During England’s 1986-87 Ashes campaign Down Under, Martin Johnson’s infamous summary entered folklore. “There are only three things wrong with the English team,” he had begun. “They can’t bat, they can’t bowl and they can’t field.” This version of England must be pretty close to that territory right now. The defending champions -- it will be safe to assume they won’t be defending anything apart from their honour in the remaining games -- fell apart in the most dramatic of circumstances.
At 0/45 after 6.2 overs, it looked like they had recovered from the royal thrashing at the hands of South Africa without any hangover. As the shadows lengthened across this grand old stadium a few hours later, all the symptoms were present in abundance. It was like watching punch-drunk batters. Lethargy. Grogginess. Heach-ache and a certain level of brain fog. Brain fog was what Adil Rashid must have felt when he decided to go AWOL at the non-striker’s end in the 32nd over. A non-threatening Maheesh Theekshana delivery was collected down the leg side by keeper Kusal Mendis. But he remained alert and immediately fired the throw at the other end to catch Rashid short. The spinner had backed up too far but had forgotten one of the basic tenets of the game; you could be run-out if you don’t get back.
It was poetic that when they were bowled out in a little over two-over-and-a-half hours, they had exactly 100 balls left to bat (maybe they could have played an innings of The Hundred). A total of 156 was never going to be enough and Sri Lanka, who were inspired on the field, knocked off the runs with 146 balls and eight wickets to spare. After winning two white-ball global titles, the last few weeks has had an air of an era coming to an end. This match also had a similar air about it.
Before the match, vice-captain Moeen Ali, recalled to the starting line-up after being sidelined for the last three games, had spoken about a lack of aggression in their play. But their problem has not been lack of aggression. Their problem has had more to do with marrying aggression and execution. For whatever reason, this World Cup has seen them retaining their aggression but losing that conviction and self-belief. Jonny Bairstow, one of the principal white-ball batters a few years ago, had that dog in him in 2019. Over the last few weeks or so, he seems to have mistaken a toothpick for his bat. His half-hearted attempt to swipe at a delivery from well outside off over wide mid-on was a shot not out of anger but malaise. Malaise has led England to make a lot of questionable calls (they had named an all XI squad of 30 or above against Sri Lanka).
Naturally, skipper Jos Buttler’s position as skipper will be front and centre. The keeper himself still believes that he’s the best person for the job. The only thing keeping England in the tournament is a remote mathematical possibility of qualifying for the semifinals but Buttler has given up the ghost. Brief scores: England 156 in 33.2 ovs (Stokes 43; Kumara 3/35, Mathews 2/14) lost to Sri Lanka 160/2 in 25.4 ovs (Nissanka 77 n.o, Samarawickrama 65 n.o).