Tom Reeves takes a painful look back at England’s doomed Cricket World Cup campaign…
England were unceremoniously dumped out of the 2015 Cricket World Cup last week after losing to Bangladesh by 15 runs.
England were all out for 260 as Bangladesh successfully defended their total of 275-7.
Victory over minnows Afghanistan in their final group stage match did little to improve the mood of the English fans and serious questions will be asked after four defeats in six matches.
So how did England’s players perform? In batting order:
4 Ian Bell – Still England’s most fluent batsman. However, for a player of his calibre, four centuries in 161 one-day internationals is a terrible record. With changes at the top-order expected, the 32-year-old may have to focus on Test cricket.
6 Moeen Ali – Cashed in with a ton against Scotland, although failed to live up to the hype ahead of the tournament. Did a reliable job as England’s first-choice spinner but it is a role he probably shouldn’t have with James Tredwell in the squad.
3 Gary Ballance – Was launched in at the deep end after he recovered from injury and never got going. Should have been dropped much sooner.
8 Joe Root – Currently England’s best batsman. His ton against Sri Lanka underlined his maturity. Future captain material, perhaps?
2 Eoin Morgan – Lacked just about everything an England captain should possess and didn’t score any runs either.
4 James Taylor – Should have scored a century against Australia, only to be denied by an umpire error. Maybe if he had done so he would have contributed more in the next five matches.
8 Jos Buttler – Almost rescued victory against Bangladesh and struck real fear into Sri Lanka’s attack as well. The 24-year-old is wasted at number seven.
3 Chris Woakes – Did more with the bat in his 42 not out against Bangladesh than he did with the ball all tournament.
2 Stuart Broad – Took just three wickets and his batting has clearly deteriorated.
3 Steven Finn – Was smashed to all corners of the ground by Brendon McCullum in Wellington and never really recovered.
4 James Anderson – Struggled to swing the ball and wasn’t particularly effective when England needed him most of all, for once.
5 Alex Hales – Had to wait too long for his chance. In fairness to Peter Moores and the selectors, he didn’t take it in the last two games but will probably be given a longer run in the team post-World Cup.
6 Ravi Bopara – It was nice of Moores to give him a run-out…after the damage had been done. His 2-31 against Afghanistan proved he can be just as much of a threat with the ball as he can be with the bat.
6 James Tredwell – Please see above. Took 1-25 from seven overs against Afghanistan. Not bad for someone England never even considered before it was all too late.