HTML tags remained unchanged. England’s World Cup defense suffered a major setback as they were embarrassed by Afghanistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The tournament needed a surprise to add excitement to the lengthy group stage, but no one expected it to come from this game. The defeat by 69 runs leaves Jos Buttler’s team needing to win at least five of their remaining six games to reach the semi-finals, with tough matches against South Africa, India, Australia, and Pakistan still to come. Based on their performance, England will struggle to beat any of these teams.

Afghanistan’s victory was a remarkable achievement for their cricket team and a major accomplishment for their English coach Jonathan Trott. Neutral fans everywhere will be delighted by the result. However, England’s performance was so poor that it seemed as if the white-ball revolution led by Eoin Morgan eight years ago never happened. Their bowling lacked cleverness and their ability to adapt on the spot. Similarly, their batting lacked aggression. Before the tournament, Buttler dismissed concerns about England’s ranking, but their “alright-on-the-night” mentality has resulted in two defeats out of three games. Their reputation is fading away.

The game’s first delivery set the tone when Chris Woakes, who had a disappointing game overall, bowled a wayward ball down leg side that went past Buttler to the boundary. Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz then scored a fantastic 80 runs off just 57 balls against some friendly bowling, only to be run out due to a poor call from his captain. Although England’s spinners threatened to turn the match in their favor, their sloppy performance, including a missed stumping by Buttler, allowed Afghanistan to turn 190 for six into 284.

In their previous game against the same opponents, India comfortably chased down a target of 273 runs with only two wickets lost. The suspicion that England’s team is not as strong as they claim has grown after their lackluster batting performance, with only Harry Brook showing any level of fluency. With a total of 215 all out, this defeat ranks alongside some of England’s worst World Cup losses from the past.

Afghanistan deserves credit for pulling off their first-ever victory over England in any format, but this outcome was unexpected. If England lose to South Africa in their next match, their chances of retaining the trophy they won four years ago will be severely diminished. Warning signs have been evident throughout the tournament. England dismissed their nine-wicket loss to New Zealand as an anomaly, despite the mistake of leaving out Reece Topley. Their victory over Bangladesh concealed their struggles in the final 10 overs. The conservative approach that used to plague English cricket has returned at the worst possible time.

England had the opportunity to give playing time to Gus Atkinson or David Willey, or even both. However, they chose to stick with Woakes, who has not performed well in this World Cup. Woakes has only taken two wickets for 135 runs so far, while Sam Curran has been similarly ineffective. Their combined figures in this game were disappointing. It is not sustainable, especially when Atkinson is performing well in practice sessions.

By not playing Atkinson or Willey in this match, England will have to take a risk by selecting one or both of them in the next match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where the ball tends to travel. Moreover, South Africa will be in good form and looking to exploit any weaknesses. Woakes struggled in the match, and Buttler lost faith in him after his second ball went for a six. However, Curran’s expensive spells at the beginning and end of the innings were equally concerning.

Although Reece Topley bowled well in his opening spell, there was concern when he left the field due to a knee injury. Mark Wood deserved better figures, but the spinners, led by Adil Rashid and supported by Liam Livingstone, stood out. It was odd that Buttler only gave Joe Root four overs. England’s spinners took five wickets for 94 runs in 24 overs, while the four seamers took three wickets for 189 runs in 25.5 overs.

Buttler’s stumping error cost England crucial runs, and the team’s skills and strategy abandoned them towards the end of the game. They got off to a terrible start when Jonny Bairstow was dismissed early. The rest of the batting order, except for Brook, performed poorly. The chase became increasingly difficult as wickets fell, and Afghanistan’s spinners posed a major challenge for England. In the end, England’s final hope vanished when Brook was caught behind. Afghanistan celebrated a famous victory, while England’s World Cup journey is at risk of ending prematurely.

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