England have been knocked out of a World Cup following a defeat in a match they were heavily favored in, thanks to a surprise performance which took everyone by surprise. Sound familiar? That’s because it applies to two incidents involving England which occurred almost exactly a year apart: on Wednesday, their ODI World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their loss in a crucial group stage match against West Indies in the T20 version.
What Happened Next
In the interim, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a post-series review which was meant to change everything. Was it successful? Let’s look a little more deeply into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England collapsed, dropped five catches, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to win the day. More recently, a player with superb skill and composure – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – showed why she is among the elite in cricket. She gave precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England held on to it. Unfortunately, she had accumulated 169 runs by that point.
‘This will hurt’: Edwards looks to next generation after England’s World Cup defeat.
This may not offer 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, half a year on England held on to more chances this World Cup than any other team. That’s an improvement.
The Batting Collapse
The problem was what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Did anyone inside that England dressing room really believe they were capable of chasing down a total of more than 300? Undoubtedly no one outside it did. England’s collapse to nought for two and 1/3 sparked a reaction not of horror but of weary inevitability.
“We do need to enhance our batting performance – I don’t think it’s been reliable at times,” Edwards said after the match. This highlights the problem. There have been eight totals of more than 300 in this tournament: three of them 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 exceed that milestone. But when nobody except Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a history of consistently scoring meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.
Collaborative Innings
Capsey’s century stand with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final wasn’t entirely pointless – Capsey demonstrated 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 score 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had faith in the batters following her and felt she had enough freedom to hit out. “Aware of our resources in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she explained to Sky Sports.
Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the only England batters to deliver regularly during the tournament.
Coaching Dilemmas
When Edwards was hired in April, her challenge was whether to maintain or change: she chose to allow an veteran team who had struggled previously one last shot at World Cup glory. This proved incorrect. England return home with the worst of both worlds: without a trophy, and with little basis on which to rebuild over the next four years. Five of their top six from the semi-final are unlikely to play in another 50-over World Cup.
A change of approach is now imminent, as Edwards herself indicated. “This is the conclusion of a phase,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.”
Future Prospects
Better late than never: an opportunity to evaluate at the 21-year-old left-handed batter Grace Scrivens, the young wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the 18-year-old left-arm spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
A persistent concern is that it might already be too late: England’s latest round of central contracts were finalized on 1 October. The governing body has not yet released a full list of contracted players, but it isn’t difficult to work out that the existing team are the main beneficiaries.
Moving Forward
Stagnation and complacency were the twin problems on which the Ashes whitewash was built – it’s crucial for Edwards to signal that she is committed to preventing their return.
