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England have been knocked out of a World Cup following a defeat in a match they were expected to win, thanks to a surprise performance which nobody saw coming. Does that ring a bell? This is because it describes two events involving England which occurred almost exactly a year separated: recently, their 50-over semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a crucial group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version.

The Interim Period

During that time, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a post-series review which was intended to overhaul the system. Did it? Time to delve a little more deeply into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England fell to pieces, missed multiple opportunities, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to win the day. In the latest match, 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. The trouble was, she had already scored 169 runs by that point.

‘This will hurt’: Edwards looks to next generation after England’s World Cup drubbing.

This may not offer the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she returns from her first World Cup as manager – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has initiated positive changes. From the doldrums of dropping eight catches in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, six months later England secured more chances this World Cup than any other team. That’s an improvement.

England’s Innings Struggles

The issue arose following 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 one for three provoked 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. Therein lies the concern. There have been eight totals of more than 300 in this tournament: a portion 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 only Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a history of consistently scoring meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.

Partnership Efforts

Capsey’s century stand with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final wasn’t entirely pointless – Capsey demonstrated that she can play responsibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was insufficient to win the game. In comparison with South Africa, who were able to score 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had confidence in the batters coming in below 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 score runs consistently during the tournament.

Coaching Dilemmas

When Edwards was appointed in April, her challenge was whether to maintain or change: she opted to give an ageing ODI side who had bombed in the Ashes one last shot at World Cup glory. This proved incorrect. England come back with the worst of both worlds: empty-handed, and with no foundations on which to restructure 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 approaching, as Edwards herself signalled. “This is the conclusion of a phase,” she said. “We’ve got to focus ahead now.”

Future Prospects

Better late than never: time to look seriously at the young left-hander Grace Scrivens, the young wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the 18-year-old left-arm spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.

The nagging worry is that it might already be too late: England’s most recent set of central contracts were finalized on 1 October. The cricket board has not yet released a full list of retained athletes, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the current World Cup squad are the primary recipients.

The Path Ahead

Lack of progress and overconfidence were the dual enemies on which the Ashes whitewash was built – time for Edwards to demonstrate that she is serious about preventing their return.