Three weeks ago, on the eve of England’s World Cup opener against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, Jos Buttler came up with a couple of throwaway lines that invariably come back to hurt the speaker. “I don’t see us as defending champions,” England’s captain insisted. “We are not defending anything. I want us to attack, so I don’t like the word defending.”

England gasping

Four matches into the tournament, England haven’t attacked, nor have they defended. They have been reduced to whipping boys, a development no one would have foreseen. Battered by the Kiwis, humbled by Afghanistan and hammered by South Africa, Buttler’s England are gasping for breath, victory against Bangladesh in Dharamsala the sole saving grace thus far.