One step behind!

Timing is everything in cricket so the latest confluence of events at the World Cup certainly isnrsquot helping the English moodFour years ago the accolades flowed for the English while they outshone New Zealand in nervejangling fashion after ending a rather agonising 44year wait to be crowned the World Champions of the sport they invented Cut to 2023 the critics seem to be preoccupied with heaping scorn on a squad that could manage to win only one out of four matchesJos Buttlerrsquos England hasnrsquot had a lot of success in the past in India where the spin and pitches confound batsmen more familiar with insanely bouncy conditions so a few experts are writing this off as part of the lsquolearning curversquo One must remember how the same side cut a sorry figure seven times since 2005 while playing the 50over game on Indian soil thereby producing a cascade of embarrassment for a sporting English crowd who have turned up in large numbers each timeAlso Read ICC World Cup 2023 Pakistan suffers a big blow Hasan Ali ruled out of South Africa clashEnglandrsquos nearelimination scare could have serious implications for its management as scrutiny mounts on the playersrsquo lsquocomicalrsquo underperformance for most of this yearCome this Sunday Buttlerrsquos comrades seem to have neither the form nor the resources to repeat their 2019 heroics against an Indian team determined to consolidate their top ODI ranking by virtue of a sixth successive win in this World CupThe warmup match against India weeks ago was meant to be a dress rehearsal for their batsmen to figure out ways to tackle the relentless spin that Rohit Sharma and Co most often take pride in But rain gods stepped in Days later Buttler and his men landed with bruised egos leaving the side rooted to ninth place with only two points thus farBefore the tournament kicked off there was too much riding on the likes of Buttler Harry Brook Sam Curran Moeen Ali Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone But the truth is none of their top batters or allrounders barring opener Dawid Malan and Joe Root to a lesser extent have been able to find their range a defeat against Afghanistan the mauling by South Africa and the latest Lankan attack play out like the reels of a bad dream Perhaps more than anything else the unpredicted malfunctioning of their allrounders who are known to be central to Englands bull run in white ball cricket have been the most disappointingBesides unlike their Indian and Australian counterparts the English have had no specific buildup to the 2023 World Cup A fourmatch series against the Kiwis on home turf which they won was their most recent experience of the format while the battingbowling greats were rested for the Ireland series This lack of gametime for their frontliners could be a major deterrent for Englandrsquos winning intent throughout the four weeksIts not a lack of talent We have a lot of experienced guys who are fantastic cricketers So absolutely its a huge frustration This tournaments gone nowhere near the way we wanted to its been a huge disappointment If there was one golden egg that we were missing then youd hope to see that We got on the plane with high hopes and a lot of confidence and belief that we can challenge for the title To be sitting here now with the three weeks that have been is a shock its a shock to everyone Ill walk back in the dressing room after this press conference and look at the players sitting there and think How have we found ourselves in this position with the talent and the skill thats in the room But it is the position were in its the reality of whats happened over the last three weeks and thats a huge low pointrdquo Buttler told reporters moments after an eightwicket loss to Sri Lanka left them on the verge of elimination with only four league stage games remainingButtlerrsquos toss calls have been all the more surprising given that one statistic he should have been aware of is his sidersquos poor recent record batting second in ODIs That includes a 69run defeat by Afghanistan recently although the temptation to dismiss that loss as a freak result may have clouded their think tank With the exception of Reece Topley whose World Cup campaign drew to a close due to hand injury England have struggled to make an impact with the new ball Barring Sri Lanka all three of their past defeats have featured a major innings by an opposition opener with the scintillating knock of 85 by South Africas Reeza Hendricks topping the list as well as several toporder partnershipsThe English have long prided themselves on team selection with pinpoint accuracy yet they recalled Ben Stokes David Willey and Gus Atkinson against South Africa in place of the more experienced Livingstone Curran and Woakes Besides the ease with which Stokes was allowed to reverse his ODI retirement despite lingering doubts over his bowling fitness spoke volumesThere has been all manner of World Cup shambles for this side as their former skipper Eoin Morgan would better know But never one as bad as this This surely is the worst yet worse than 2015 when Bangladeshrsquos pinchhitters left them trailing in their wake Against tabletoppers India on Sunday the uncharacteristic England will hope for some spunk from their bowlers to conjure an unlikely win and remain in the semifinals race