One step behind!

Timing is everything in cricket, so the latest confluence of events at the World Cup certainly isn't helping the English mood.

Four years ago, the accolades flowed for the English while they outshone New Zealand in nerve-jangling fashion after ending a rather agonising 44-year wait to be crowned the World Champions of the sport they invented. Cut to 2023, the critics seem to be preoccupied with heaping scorn on a squad that could manage to win only one out of four matches.

Jos Buttler's England hasn't had a lot of success in the past in India, where the spin and pitches confound batsmen more familiar with insanely bouncy conditions, so a few experts are writing this off as part of the ‘learning curve'. One must remember how the same side cut a sorry figure seven times since 2005 while playing the 50-over game on Indian soil, thereby producing a cascade of embarrassment for a sporting English crowd who have turned up in large numbers each time.

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England's near-elimination scare could have serious implications for its management, as scrutiny mounts on the players' ‘comical' underperformance for most of this year.

Come this Sunday, Buttler's comrades seem to have neither the form nor the resources to repeat their 2019 heroics against an Indian team determined to consolidate their top ODI ranking by virtue of a sixth successive win in this World Cup.

The warm-up match against India weeks ago was meant to be a dress rehearsal for their batsmen to figure out ways to tackle the relentless spin that Rohit Sharma and Co. most often take pride in. But rain gods stepped in. Days later, Buttler and his men landed with bruised egos, leaving the side rooted to ninth place with only two points thus far.

Before the tournament kicked off, there was too much riding on the likes of Buttler, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone. But the truth is, none of their top batters or all-rounders, barring opener Dawid Malan and Joe Root to a lesser extent, have been able to find their range, a defeat against Afghanistan, the mauling by South Africa, and the latest Lankan attack play out like the reels of a bad dream. Perhaps, more than anything else, the unpredicted malfunctioning of their all-rounders, who are known to be central to England's bull run in white ball cricket, have been the most disappointing.

Besides, unlike their Indian and Australian counterparts, the English have had no specific build-up to the 2023 World Cup. A four-match series against the Kiwis on home turf, which they won, was their most recent experience of the format, while the batting-bowling greats were rested for the Ireland series. This lack of game-time for their frontliners could be a major deterrent for England's winning intent throughout the four weeks.

"It's not a lack of talent. (We have) a lot of experienced guys who are fantastic cricketers. So absolutely, it's a huge frustration. This tournament's gone nowhere near the way we wanted to; it's been a huge disappointment. If there was one golden egg that we were missing, then you'd hope to see that. We got on the plane with high hopes and a lot of confidence and belief that we can challenge for the title. To be sitting here now with the three weeks that have been is a shock - it's a shock to everyone. I'll walk back in the dressing room after this [press conference] and look at the players sitting there, and think: 'How have we found ourselves in this position with the talent and the skill that's in the room?' But it is the position we're in; it's the reality of what's happened over the last three weeks and that's a huge low point," Buttler told reporters, moments after an eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka left them on the verge of elimination with only four league stage games remaining.

Buttler's toss calls have been all the more surprising given that one statistic he should have been aware of is his side's poor recent record batting second in ODIs. That includes a 69-run defeat by Afghanistan recently, although the temptation to dismiss that loss as a 'freak result' may have clouded their think tank. With the exception of Reece Topley, whose World Cup campaign drew to a close due to hand injury, England have struggled to make an impact with the new ball. Barring Sri Lanka, all three of their past defeats have featured a major innings by an opposition opener, with the scintillating knock of 85 by South Africa's Reeza Hendricks topping the list, as well as several top-order partnerships.

The English have long prided themselves on team selection with pinpoint accuracy, yet they recalled Ben Stokes, David Willey and Gus Atkinson against South Africa in place of the more experienced Livingstone, Curran and Woakes. Besides, the ease with which Stokes was allowed to reverse his ODI retirement, despite lingering doubts over his bowling fitness, spoke volumes.

There has been all manner of World Cup shambles for this side as their former skipper Eoin Morgan would better know. But never one as bad as this. This, surely, is the worst yet, worse than 2015 when Bangladesh's pinch-hitters left them trailing in their wake. Against table-toppers India on Sunday, the uncharacteristic England will hope for some spunk from their bowlers to conjure an unlikely win and remain in the semifinals race.