Image Credit- Getty
There is still hope for England’s World Cup defence.
To judge by Jos Buttler’s former worldbeaters’ recent hollow-eyed exhibition,
it’s even more unfortunate. Though it’s enough to remark that this most recent
shattering loss – by eight wickets and in just 59 overs of the match’s 100 –
was neither the largest nor the most startling of an awful season, the
humiliations are coming so thick and fast that they are losing their shock
value.
But it was the one that proved, without all reasonable
doubt, that this team of true England greats has run out of miracles in the
dressing room. When Pathum Nissanka smashed Sri Lanka’s winning six over
long-on with an astounding 148 balls remaining, the match was officially
between the eighth and ninth teams in the tournament standings. But, you had to
wonder if this England team, in such a depressing mood, could even have matched
their conquerors’ achievement of qualifying for the July tournament that did
for the likes of West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland.
England’s realistic challenge in this match lasted no
longer than the first six overs of each powerplay; having won the toss, they
were 44 for 0, briefly looking like they might finally unleash their power, but
they then managed to lose all ten of their wickets for 111 in 26 overs, chief
among their attackers being the ever-present pace of Lahiru Kumara and the
ever-present cunning of Angelo Mathews.
After that, David Willey claimed two wickets in the
new ball to raise hopes of a low-scoring duel at 23 for 2, but Nissanka and
Sadeera Samarawickrama shut the door with an almost impossible stand of 137 in
122 balls. Then it was over, as they say.