England have been knocked out from the World Cup after losing a match they were expected to win, thanks to a one-off innings which nobody saw coming. Does that ring a bell? That’s because it describes two events involving England which occurred almost exactly a year apart: on Wednesday, their 50-over semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their loss in a crucial group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version.
What Happened Next
During that time, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a post-series review which was meant to change everything. Did it? Let’s look a little more closely into those two World Cup exits. In 2024, England collapsed, missed multiple opportunities, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to seal the match. More recently, a player with beautiful technique and temperament – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – demonstrated why she is among the elite in cricket. She gave precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England took it. The trouble was, she had accumulated 169 runs by that point.
‘It’s painful’: 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 flies home from her first World Cup in charge – she is a results driven coach, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the low point of multiple fielding errors 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.
The Batting Collapse
The issue arose what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Was there anyone inside that England dressing room truly confident they were able to reach a total of more than 300? Certainly no one outside it did. England’s collapse to nought for two and one for three sparked a reaction not of horror but of weary inevitability.
“We do need to improve our batting – I don’t think it’s been consistent enough at times,” Edwards said after the match. Therein lies the concern. There have been eight totals of more than 300 in this tournament: three of them were hit by Australia, three by India, and two by South Africa. This is now standard in women’s ODI cricket: in order to rival 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 track record of regularly making meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.
Collaborative Innings
Capsey’s century stand with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final wasn’t entirely pointless – Capsey demonstrated that she can bat sensibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was insufficient to win the game. Compare and contrast with South Africa, who were able to score 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the 300-run mark, because Wolvaardt had confidence in the batters following 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 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 hired in April, her dilemma was whether to stick or twist: she chose to allow an veteran team who had struggled previously one last shot at World Cup glory. She got it wrong. England return home with the least favorable outcome: empty-handed, and with no foundations on which to rebuild over the next four years. The majority of the top order from the semi-final are probably not featuring in another 50-over World Cup.
A change of approach is now approaching, as Edwards herself indicated. “This is the conclusion of a phase,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.”
Upcoming Talent
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 teenage spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
A persistent concern is that it might be overdue: England’s latest round of central contracts were finalized on 1 October. The cricket board has not yet released a full list of retained athletes, but it isn’t difficult to work out that the current World Cup squad are the main beneficiaries.
Moving Forward
Stagnation and complacency were the twin problems on which the Ashes whitewash was built – time for Edwards to demonstrate that she is committed to preventing their return.
