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The England team was knocked out of a World Cup after losing a match they were expected to win, thanks to a one-off innings which nobody saw coming. Sound familiar? That’s because it applies to two events involving England which took place almost exactly a year apart: recently, their ODI World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a must-win group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version.

The Interim Period

In the interim, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a thorough analysis which was intended to overhaul the system. Was it successful? Let’s look a little more deeply into those two World Cup exits. In 2024, England collapsed, missed multiple opportunities, and allowed a bish-bash-bosh innings from Qiana Joseph to seal the match. More recently, a player with beautiful technique and temperament – 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.

‘It’s painful’: The coach turns to next generation after England’s World Cup defeat.

This may not offer the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she returns from her first World Cup in charge – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the low point of dropping eight catches in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, half a year on England held on to more chances this World Cup than any other team. That is something.

The Batting Collapse

The problem was following Wolvaardt’s knock. Did anyone inside that England dressing room really believe they were able to reach a total of more than 300? Certainly no one outside it did. England’s rapid decline to 0/2 and one for three provoked a reaction not of horror but of weary inevitability.

“We do need to improve our batting – I don’t think it’s been reliable at times,” Edwards said after the match. This highlights the problem. There have been multiple totals of more than 300 in this tournament: a portion were hit by Australia, three by India, and two by South Africa. This is the new normal in women’s ODI cricket: in order to compete with the world’s best, England need a batting lineup which can realistically aim to surpass 300 runs. But when nobody except Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a track record of consistently scoring meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.

Collaborative Innings

Capsey’s 105-run partnership with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final had some value – Capsey demonstrated that she can bat sensibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was insufficient to win the game. In comparison with South Africa, who were able to add 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the 300-run mark, because Wolvaardt had confidence in the batters coming in below her and felt she had enough freedom to hit out. “Knowing what we still had in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she told Sky Sports.

Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the sole consistent performers to score runs consistently during the tournament.

Managerial Decisions

When Edwards was hired in April, her challenge was whether to maintain or change: she opted to give an veteran team who had bombed in the Ashes one last shot at World Cup glory. She got it wrong. England return home with the worst of both worlds: empty-handed, and with little basis on which to rebuild over the next four years. The majority of the top order from the semi-final are unlikely to play in another 50-over World Cup.

A new strategy is now approaching, as Edwards herself signalled. “This is the conclusion of a phase,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.”

Future Prospects

It’s about time: time to look seriously at the 21-year-old left-handed batter Grace Scrivens, the 20-year-old 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 contracted players, but it isn’t difficult to deduce that the existing team are the main beneficiaries.

Moving Forward

Stagnation and complacency were the twin problems on which the Ashes whitewash was built – time for Edwards to signal that she is committed to preventing their return.