UK View: Moment that summed up England disaster as bowling duo deemed ‘unselectable’

It was the first major upset of this year’s World Cup and the opening ball England set the tone for a historic defeat that what was described by Jos Buttler as a “big setback”.

A wayward delivery from Chris Woakes, which Buttler allowed through his grasp for five wides, would later prove to be a sign of things to come in a shock 69-run loss to Afghanistan.

And for Woakes, it was just the start of another concerning outing which ended with figures of 0-41 from four overs as his struggles at the tournament continued.

Woakes has now taken just two wickets so far — both in the win over Bangladesh — and conceded 7.5 runs an over.

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A first loss to Afghanistan in any format left England with only one win from their first three matches in the tournament and with little room for error in their remaining six group games.

Afghanistan punished a slack bowling display to reach 284 all out before dismissing England for 215. Harry Brook was the only batsman to offer much resistance as he top-scored with 66.

Former England captain Michael Atherton though laid the blame on the team’s inconsistent bowling attack, with Woakes giving up 31 runs off his first three overs.

“England haven’t bowled well enough and teams have got off to fliers against them,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.

“There are reasons. Many of the players are undercooked in terms of cricketing time, time in ODIs.

“But they have not hit the ground running and have made things very difficult for themselves now. I think England started badly today. They were sloppy. Five wides to start, Curran giving away a free hit in the early overs. A misfield from Bairstow that went for four.

“They just looked a bit off the pace and that set the tone. They were always chasing the game from that point on.”

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Former England bowler Steven Finn described it as “utter carnage” in commentary for BBC Test Match Special as Afghanistan hit the half-century mark after just seven overs.

It was not just Woakes though, with Sam Curran also conceding 46 runs off four overs.

The duo’s inconsistent showing left England needing to rely on 12 overs of production from Joe Root and Liam Livingstone.

“It was an implosion that’s been brewing throughout England’s early campaign,” wrote

Katya Witney of Wisden.

“Woakes’ opening three-over spells in the tournament so far read 0-27 against New Zealand, 1-37 against Afghanistan and 0-31 against Afghanistan,” added Witney.

“Far from England’s Mr Reliable with the new ball in ODI cricket, as he’s been for so many years, Woakes has thus far been a liability.

“Couple that with a willingness to view Curran as a solution to their lack of depth with both bat and ball and England’s attack looks far short of one that could reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, let alone win it.”

Lawrence Booth of the Daily Mail, meanwhile, wrote that the “warning signs” had already been there before Sunday’s shock defeat and that Woakes and Curran are now “unselectable”.

“They dismissed the nine-wicket hammering by New Zealand as an aberration, before Bangladesh failed to punish them for a lame final 10 overs with the bat in Dharamshala,” Booth wrote.

“But the conservatism that once blighted English cricket seems to have returned. England had a chance here to blood either Gus Atkinson or David Willey, or both. Instead, Woakes – one of the heroes of the Ashes comeback – has made himself unselectable, along with Sam Curran.

“Woakes has now taken two for 135 at this World Cup, and Curran two for 122. Their combined figures here were 8-0-87-0. All the while, Atkinson has been firing rockets in the nets under the approving eye of bowling coach David Saker.”

England captain Buttler said the defending champions must show their resolve and believe they can turn their faltering World Cup campaign around.

“It’s a big setback obviously. Before the tournament starts you have a different idea of how the first three games would pan out,” said Buttler.

“We’ve got to show a lot of character, a lot of resilience within the team and most of all a lot of belief.

“There was a lot of excellent players in there and we haven’t played well enough today but we must keep that belief.”

He added: “It’s not been the way we wanted to start the competition, but this is the situation we find ourselves in and we’re going to have to play some of our best cricket moving forward.”

England play in-form South Africa next on Saturday in Mumbai. They also still have to face tournament favourites and hosts India, Pakistan and five-time champions Australia.

BBC Test Match Special commentator Henry Moeran said Sunday’s stunning loss is the “sort of result that can really derail a side in a tournament”.

Former England bowler Finn said there are “going to be a lot of meetings, a lot of conversations and a lot of head scratching over the next 48 hours”.

“It’s going to be so emotional in that England dressing room right now, so quiet. It’s akin to that defeat by Bangladesh in 2015, although that one sent them out, they will be just as dejected now,” he said on BBC Test Match Special.

“They’re going to have to pick themselves up because they are not technically out of the tournament. But they’re going to need to change something and change it quick if they’re going to compete against the best teams in the world.”

Of course, while the shocking nature of Sunday’s defeat has left England with plenty of questions to answer there also needs to be plenty of praise directed Afghanistan’s way.

Buttler said Afghanistan “outplayed” England, with spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan claiming three wickets each.

“Afghanistan have put a lot of other teams on notice today,” Finn said.

“They’re very dangerous, they’ve got a lot of good players and if they piece it together then they’re going to win a number of games through this tournament and upset people along the way.”