The reigning champions, England, suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, extending their disappointing run in the 2023 World Cup. Despite putting up a total of 156, England couldn’t defend it against the Sri Lankan Lions on October 26. This marked England’s fifth consecutive loss to Sri Lanka in ODI World Cup matches.
Following this loss, the Jos Buttler-led team now finds themselves in the ninth position in the points table, primarily due to their Net Run Rate (NRR). They have accumulated only two points from five games, with their lone victory coming against Bangladesh. They share this point tally with the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
To provide some context, England began the tournament with a nine-wicket defeat against New Zealand. They rebounded with a convincing 137-run victory over Bangladesh in the following match. However, their fortunes took a downturn as they suffered substantial defeats to Afghanistan and South Africa, losing by 69 and 229 runs, respectively.
Now, Jos Buttler and his team face a challenging task. To remain in contention for a spot in the semifinals, they must secure victories in all four of their remaining league-stage matches with substantial margins. This would grant them 10 points from nine games. In the event that multiple teams achieve 10 points, the Net Run Rate (NRR) will play a crucial role in determining the fourth semifinalist.
India has already secured 10 points with five consecutive wins, while South Africa and New Zealand are on the verge of reaching 10 points, each having eight points so far. On the other hand, Australia has staged a comeback with three consecutive victories and currently occupies the fourth spot with six points.
To summarize England’s World Cup semifinal qualification scenarios:
Must win all their remaining four league-stage matches.
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Afghanistan must each lose at least one match. These three teams have accumulated four points in their first five games.
In more challenging scenarios:
Australia must lose two of their remaining four matches.
South Africa and New Zealand must lose three of their remaining four matches.
India should lose all their remaining four matches.