World Cup 2023: What has gone wrong with England in ODIs since 2019 triumph

When limited-overs skipper Jos Buttler lifted the glittering trophy after leading England to T20 World Cup triumph last year, English cricket was well and truly on top and were easily the best team in the sport.

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England had become the first team to hold both the ODI and T20 World Cups simultaneously after their victory over Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in November. Add their domination of the Test format following the introduction of ‘Bazball’, and you have what can surely be described as the golden age of English cricket.

England, after all, had not experienced such domination of the sport across formats for a long time, certainly for the first time since the rise of the 20-over format.

However, less than a year since that triumph at MCG, England find themselves on the verge of a group-stage elimination at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India in what could be the lowest point for English cricket in years.

Read | Are England out of semi-final contention in 2023 ICC World Cup

The last time the team had performed so poorly in a global event was in the 2015 edition of the showpiece event in Australia and New Zealand, where they suffered a knockout punch at the hands of Bangladesh and bowed out with wins against minnows Scotland and Afghanistan.

That result forced the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to bring about a complete overhaul in the side that was to have a lasting effect on the team’s fortunes, at least in the white-ball formats. The way Buttler and Co are performing in the mega event in India at the moment, some tough decisions await them this winter as well.

Here’s a detailed look at what has ailed the Englishmen in the 50-over format since their 2019 triumph along with some of their ODI numbers:

England’s ODI numbers since 2019 (before the ongoing World Cup):

Matches: 42

Won: 22

Lost: 16

No Result: 4

England have been a mixed bag in ODIs since being crowned champions in 2019, having also undergone a change in leadership during this period, with Buttler taking over the reins from Eoin Morgan and Matthew Mott taking over as head coach from Chris Silverwood.

The team’s win/loss ratio since their triumph on 14 July, 2019, which stands at 1.375, isn’t too inspiring, especially for a side that has been crowned world champions in that format. Only Sri Lanka (1.250) and Australia (1.200) have a lower W/L ratio than England among the full members, with the Lankans having played 14 more matches than their English counterparts during this period.

No surprise at England’s dismal performance in #CWC2023.
Since winning the 2019 #CWC, England’s win% in ODIs is 48.94.
Only 9 teams (WI, Zim, Ire, Afg, USA, UAE, Ned, Jersey, PNG) have performed worse than Eng in terms of win%, while 12 others have done better!#CWC23#EngvsSL

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 26, 2023

Compare this with those of Pakistan (2.400) and World Cup hosts India (1.818), with the Men in Blue having played 24 more matches than England, and their numbers look even more modest.

England’s #CWC record..
away from home: Won 27, lost 27
at home: Won 23, lost 9#CWC23 #CWC2023 #EngvsSL #SLvENG

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 26, 2023

England’s ODI numbers drop even further when looking at just the ‘away’ matches, having won eight and lost nine in 18 matches. With this year’s World Cup taking place in conditions that couldn’t be more different from what they get back home, their modest away numbers would have had alarm bells ringing in their minds heading into the event.

Availability of key players

Stokes has been England’s go-to man in some of their most memorable triumphs and that includes the finals of both the 2019 ICC World Cup and last year’s T20 World Cup. It is precisely why Buttler and coach Mott approached him to come out of ODI retirement in their title defence, knowing the difference his contributions with bat and ball as well as on the field can make.

Read | Stokes reversing ODI retirement was his call, says Buttler

The all-rounder however, hasn’t quite been at his best with the bat in the ongoing World Cup despite making a heroic comeback in the preceding ODI series against New Zealand, where he smashed a career-best 182. Given he’s not handling any of the bowling duties at the moment keeping his fitness concerns in mind, the spotlight does fall on his batting numbers and scores of 5 and 43 in his two outings don’t inspire much confidence.

The fact that he’s played only a handful of one-dayers in the last four years could have something to do with that. Stokes’ next ODI appearance after the epic 2019 final would come on the tour of India early 2021, where he registered scores of 1, 99 and 35. He would have a sub-par run in the format for more than a year until his ‘farewell’ ODI match against South Africa in Durham.

With Stokes already preoccupied with shaping his team’s destiny in Tests alongside red-ball coach Brendon McCullum and prioritising T20s in the shorter formats, England’s talisman might not be quite the force in the 50-over format as he was four years ago. Besides, Stokes retiring in mid-2022 only to make a comeback into the format a year later would have affected Buttler and Mott’s planning for the middle-order, where they could have groomed an ideal long-term replacement in his stead.

It’s a similar case in the bowling department where Jofra Archer, who blew opposition batters away with his blistering pace in the 2019 World Cup, has hardly represented his adopted country across formats thanks to a series of injuries that have also limited his appearances in the T20 leagues including IPL. Archer had formed quite the lethal new-ball pairing with Mark Wood, who’s just as rapid and lethal.

The Barbados-born pacer’s absence from the side might have had the same effect on the English attack as Naseem Shah’s on Pakistan. And it perhaps reflects in their bowling performances of late, especially in the nine-wicket drubbing against New Zealand and conceding 399 runs against South Africa.