England vs South Africa, World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler and Co completely outplayed as semi-final hopes slip away

Just four matches into the tournament, England have found themselves at the wrong end of the 2023 World Cup points table. And their 229-run defeat to South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday certainly does not help their case.

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Jos Buttler and Co were picked to be one of the tournament favourites before it all began, but less than halfway into the group stage, it seems as though the defending champions are losing steam, and running out of ideas.

So, where did England lose this game? And how will this impact England’s semi-final chances? Let’s take a look:

Questionable selections

England’s problems against South Africa started with their questionable selections. At the toss, captain Jos Buttler had said that bringing in David Willey and Gus Atkinson for Chris Woakes and Sam Curran was just because the pitch favoured the pacers. Ben Stokes, who had missed the tournament so far due to a hip injury, came into the playing XI, hoping to add balance to the side.

Both Woakes and Curran would have been crucial batting options, but it’s maybe safe to say that England never expected this kind of collapse where they lost eight wickets for 100.

After a below-par performance from their bowlers, which eventually took South Africa to 399/7, England clearly crumbled under pressure. More so, none of their batters even looked motivated enough to try and chase down the total.

399 – @ProteasMenCSA scored 399 against England in men’s ODIs @cricketworldcup today, the highest score against the Three Lions by any team in a men’s ODIs game. Historic.#SAvENG #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/tiRZPFwmEd

— OptaJim (@OptaJim) October 21, 2023

Ben Stokes (5) was expected to provide stability to England’s batting, but losing two quick wickets meant Stokes, who came in to bat at number four, felt a lot of pressure.

All Stokes could manage was a pull in front of square for a boundary, soon after which the all-rounder was caught and bowled by Kagiso Rabada in the ninth over.

England were already reeling at 38/4 when Stokes was dismissed, and at that very moment, the game was done and dusted. Had Stokes stayed on, tried to settle himself down, and built some sort of momentum, England could have still had a say in the game. But, that was not meant to be for the reigning champions.

Mark Wood-Gus Atkinson resistance

It was too late by the time Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson decided to take the aggressive route. England were already reeling at 100/8, and probably the only thing to play for at this point was to build a better net run-rate. And not to forget, this was the last partnership for England, after Reece Topley, who walked off the field with a fractured finger while bowling, did not make his way into the middle.

So Wood and Atkinson knew what was to be done. Atkinson came into bat in the 16^th over and punished Gerald Coetzee for a couple of boundaries.

In the 17^th, England lost even further momentum after David Willey was caught by Kagiso Rabada, who was running from the mid-off region.

In came Mark Wood, who took on Marco Jansen in the 18^th over with a couple of sixes and a four.

Atkinson, too, would go on to frustrate Kagiso Rabada with as many as four boundaries in the 21^st over.

That was an electrifying atmosphere today at the iconic Wankhede Stadium!