🔗 Share this article

The England team was eliminated from the World Cup following a defeat in a match they were heavily favored in, thanks to a surprise performance which nobody saw coming. Sound familiar? That’s because it applies to two events involving England which occurred almost exactly a year separated: on Wednesday, their 50-over semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a crucial group stage match against West Indies in the T20 version.

The Interim Period

During that time, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a post-series review which was meant to change everything. Did it? Let’s look a little more deeply into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England fell to pieces, dropped five catches, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to seal the match. More recently, a player with superb skill and composure – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – showed why she is one of the world’s best batters. She gave precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England held on to it. The trouble was, she had already scored 169 runs by that point.

‘This will hurt’: The coach turns to next generation after England’s World Cup drubbing.

It probably won’t bring the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she flies home from her first World Cup in charge – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the low point of multiple fielding errors in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, six months later England secured more chances this World Cup than any other team. That is something.

England’s Innings Struggles

The issue arose what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Was there anyone inside that England dressing room truly confident they were capable of chasing down a total of more than 300? Certainly no one outside it did. England’s collapse to nought for two and 1/3 provoked a reaction not of horror but of resigned acceptance.

“We do need to improve our batting – I don’t think it’s been consistent enough at times,” Edwards said after the match. This highlights the problem. There have been multiple totals of more than 300 in this tournament: a portion were hit by Australia, three by India, and two by South Africa. This is now standard in women’s ODI cricket: in order to compete with the world’s best, England need a batting order which can realistically aim to surpass 300 runs. But when nobody except Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a history of consistently scoring meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.

Partnership Efforts

Capsey’s 105-run partnership with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final wasn’t entirely pointless – Capsey showed that she can bat sensibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was insufficient to win the game. Compare and contrast with South Africa, who were able to add 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had confidence in the batters coming in below her and felt she had enough freedom to attack. “Aware of our resources in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she told Sky Sports.

Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the sole consistent performers to deliver regularly during the tournament.

Coaching Dilemmas

When Edwards was hired in April, her challenge was whether to stick or twist: she chose to allow an veteran team who had bombed in the Ashes one last shot at World Cup glory. This proved incorrect. England return home with the least favorable outcome: empty-handed, and with little basis on which to rebuild over the next four years. The majority of the top order from the semi-final are probably not featuring in another 50-over World Cup.

A new strategy is now imminent, as Edwards herself indicated. “This is the end of an ODI cycle,” she said. “We’ve got to focus ahead now.”

Future Prospects

Better late than never: time to look seriously at the young left-hander Grace Scrivens, the young wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the teenage spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.

A persistent concern is that it might be overdue: England’s most recent set of central contracts were signed, sealed and delivered on 1 October. The governing body has not yet published a full list of retained athletes, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the existing team are the primary recipients.

The Path Ahead

Lack of progress and overconfidence were the twin problems on which the Ashes sweep was built – it’s crucial for Edwards to signal that she is committed to preventing their return.