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England have been eliminated from the World Cup after losing a match they were heavily favored in, due to a one-off innings which took everyone by surprise. Does that ring a bell? This is because it applies to two events involving England which occurred almost exactly a year separated: on Wednesday, their ODI World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their loss in a must-win group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version.

What Happened Next

During that time, there was a 16-0 Ashes debacle and a post-series review which was meant to change everything. Was it successful? Let’s look a little more closely into those two World Cup eliminations. In 2024, England fell to pieces, dropped five catches, and allowed a bish-bash-bosh innings from Qiana Joseph to win the day. More recently, a player with superb skill and composure – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – demonstrated why she is one of the world’s best batters. She offered up precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England took it. Unfortunately, she had accumulated 169 runs by that point.

‘This will hurt’: Edwards looks to next generation after England’s World Cup drubbing.

It probably won’t bring the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she returns from her first World Cup as manager – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has initiated positive changes. From the doldrums of dropping eight catches in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, half a year on England secured more chances this World Cup than any other team. That’s an improvement.

The Batting Collapse

The problem was what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Was there anyone inside that England dressing room really believe they were able to reach a total of more than 300? Undoubtedly 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. This highlights the problem. 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 the new normal in women’s ODI cricket: in order to compete with the world’s best, England need a batting order which can realistically aim to surpass 300 runs. But when only Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a track record of regularly making meaningful runs, well, you do the maths.

Partnership Efforts

Capsey’s 105-run partnership with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final had some value – Capsey showed 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 score 117 runs from their last 10 overs, surpassing the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had faith in the batters coming in below her and felt she had the liberty to attack. “Aware of our resources 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 sole consistent performers to score runs consistently during the tournament.

Managerial Decisions

When Edwards was appointed in April, her challenge was whether to stick or twist: she chose to allow 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 probably not featuring in another 50-over World Cup.

A change of approach is now approaching, as Edwards herself indicated. “This is the end of an ODI cycle,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.”

Future Prospects

Better late than never: 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.

The nagging worry is that it might be overdue: England’s most recent set of central contracts were signed, sealed and delivered 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 primary recipients.

Moving Forward

Stagnation and complacency were the twin problems on which the Ashes sweep was built – time for Edwards to demonstrate that she is serious about preventing their return.