tthree years later, there are growing concerns that the team really is going downhill. England are an aging side whose record has been mixed since the World Cup, and they were Bumhrahed by 10 wickets in the first ODI on Tuesday.
We must not get carried away. There are plenty of extenuating circumstances, from Covid to Jofra Archer’s injuries to human nature (after the Lord’s Mayor’s Show and all). They are still second in the ODI rankings, scoring nearly 500 last week. And this great England ODI team has always suffered the occasional heavy defeat – usually, confusingly, due to a failure of their strongest suit, hitting .
But England built their reputation and reliance on bilateral series, so we can’t completely ignore their relevance now. If England lose today, it would be their third loss in eight series since the World Cup. Hardly any whites, but something to keep an eye on – especially since if it happened all three would have been up against the big beasts, India and Australia.
It could be a natural lull, or they may have peaked on July 14, 2019. We won’t know for sure until after the World Cup in India next year, but England could use a win today – to push the series to a decision Sunday in Manchester, and to talk that they are over the hill.
The match starts at 1:00 PM BST.