England’s hopes of defending their World Cup title officially ended at the hands of Australia in Ahmedabad, a sixth defeat from seven games for Jos Buttler’s deposed champions.
Here, the PA news agency addresses some of the key questions around their troubled time in India.
When can they call it a day and come home?
Incredibly, given the protracted nature of their downfall, England still have two games to play before they can finally draw the curtain on this regrettable chapter. They face the Netherlands on Wednesday in Pune and Pakistan in Kolkata on November 11. Only then can they get a long-awaited flight back to familiar shores.
What is left to play for?
Traditional sporting cliches dictate that England are playing for pride or, failing that, ‘the shirt’. But things are a little more concrete than that. They are currently rooted to bottom spot in the table and need to somehow climb to eighth place to book their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Seen as a mini World Cup and an important staging post in the four-year ODI cycle, they cannot afford to miss out.
Is this the end of the World Cup-winning class of 2019?
In total eight of that triumphant squad survived to defend their achievement and it has seemed a stretch too far. Captain Eoin Morgan felt his forces fading and retired last year, while Jason Roy was axed at the eleventh hour. Both now seem preferable fates to what has played out over the past month. Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have both stated that they do not plan to go anywhere but may yet conclude that 2027 is too distant a target. Ben Stokes seems certain to return to ODI retirement, Moeen Ali is the oldest member of the squad at 36 while Mark Wood and Chris Woakes may be better used in other formats. Adil Rashid does not play Test cricket and is still needed, but change is coming fast.
Are jobs on the line?
Jos Buttler has cut an increasingly forlorn figure as he fronts up to every fresh defeat with the same glassy-eyed stare, but he is keen to continue as captain. The support from his team-mates appears genuine and with the likely churn of personnel it is not easy to identify an obvious successor. Work on that should begin soon, though. As for head coach Matthew Mott, the terrain looks trickier. Despite being in charge for last year’s T20 World Cup win in his native Australia he is a relative newcomer and has less credit in the bank with England. His position was undermined somewhat by Morgan’s comments about an ‘unsettled’ dressing room but making him the fall guy at this stage would not reflect well on those who appointed him and odds are that he will get the chance to show he can oversee a refresh of the set-up.
What is next for the limited-overs team?
The comically congested international schedule waits for no-one. As such, England’s selectors are currently putting together their next squads for a white-ball tour of the West Indies in December. Expect plenty of fresh faces for the ODI leg, which should represent the first building blocks of England’s revamp, but a more familiar looking T20 group. England will be defending their T20 crown next summer in the Caribbean and USA and some of those who fell short this time are likely to have a shot at redemption. Stokes, meanwhile, is heading for surgery on his left knee as he focuses on his role as Test captain.
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's England omission not due to form
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's omission from his latest England squad is not due to form and he still has an important role to play for his country.
Manchester United centre-back Maguire missed Euro 2024 for beaten finalists England due to injury but was involved for interim boss Carlsey's first squad since Gareth Southgate departed for the Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month.
However, there was no place for the 31-year-old ahead of this month's Nations League double-header against Greece and the return clash with the Finnish.
Maguire was the fifth-most utilised player for England under Southgate, with only Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and John Stones appearing more, and Carsley explained that the decision was just to take a look at other options.
"It was a chance of having a look at other players. It's nothing to do with form. It's looking at the next two camps to look at other players," Carsley said.
"The players left out all have a case but we saw the benefit in the last camp of the squad being fresh, feeling fresh and a lot of energy in it.
"It's not just a copy and a paste, I want them to feel like they all have earned their place in the squad. People want to know where they stand long-term, I've told all the players this is a short-term situation.
"Harry is a player I've worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we have.
"It was a case of talking to him about what my decision was, we have some really good centre-backs who we are keen to see play. Harry still has a really important part to play, not just in this squad but also in the campaign."
Gillespie defends under-fire Pakistan captain Masood ahead of England Test series
Jason Gillespie insists Shan Masood has a "clear plan" as Pakistan's Test captain.
Pakistan's red-ball skipper has faced scrutiny after overseeing five straight defeats as captain, starting by being whitewashed 3-0 by Australia last December.
That was followed by a shock 2-0 series defeat to Bangladesh last month, which marked Gillespie's first as Pakistan Test coach.
Next up is a three-match series with England, where Joe Root (12,402) is 71 away from surpassing Alastair Cook (12,472) as the all-time leading run scorer for England in men’s Tests, beginning in Multan on Monday.
Speaking on BBC World Service's Stumped podcast, Gillespie said of Masood: "Shan has got a very clear plan on how the Test side should play and we are completely aligned on that," the 49-year-old said.
"There are things people don't see and I've been really impressed by his communication with the players and how he's gone about doing his job."
Gillespie added that he believes part of the issue is improving the fitness of the team.
He added: "We can't afford to have players in international cricket who are not fit or strong enough to negotiate the rigours of the game.
"What I've learned from the Bangladesh series is that we've got some wonderful players, but we need to be more consistent. We've got the skills but we need to keep fine-tuning them.
"There's also been plenty of talks around fitness and we're making sure that it's a key component for us going forward."
Deitz wants Windies Women to capitalize on strong positions ahead of World Cup opener- “We have to be dangerous for longer”
Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s team Shane Deitz is looking for his squad to show more killer instinct ahead of their opening game of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa on Friday.
Deitz spoke to CWI Media after the team’s second Warm-up game, a 35-run defeat at the hands of defending World T20 champions, Australia.
During that game, the team had Australia on the ropes with the ball and then with the bat.
At one point during the Australian innings, the West Indies had them reeling at 44-4 and 59-5 before they eventually made 144-8.
With the bat, the regional outfit were 68-1 in the 10th over before eventually being bowled out for 109.
“We had them on the ropes but we didn’t deliver the killer knockout punch. If we’re going to win this World Cup, that’s what we’ve got to do,” Deitz said.
“We have to have the perfect game. 20 overs with the bat. 20 overs with the ball. When we get in those situations and get on top, we’ve got to nail them,” he added.
Even with the losses to India and Australia in preparation for the World Cup, having the defending champions in those positions means that there is a lot of potential within this group.
To consistently defeat the best teams in the world, you have to maintain that high standard of play for as long as possible throughout the game.
Deitz echoed similar sentiments.
“The results aren’t the be all end all in the practice games. What we want is to play good cricket and we are doing that, just not for long enough. Once we get that longer, we have a chance to scare a few teams at this World Cup,” he said.
“Everyone’s in good spirits and we’ve shown that we’re a dangerous team. We just have to be dangerous for longer. The girls are backing themselves and everyone’s looking forward to the start of this World Cup,” he added.
As for the approach he wants his team to have in this tournament, Deitz wants to take the game to the opposition.
“If we’re going to win this, we’ve got to play attacking cricket. We’ve got to back ourselves and take on the opposition. That’s the mindset we’ve got to continue with,” he said.
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