England’s World Cup 2023 campaign has been nothing short of shocking. The 2019 World Champions have won just one match out of their five played and are reeling at the bottom half of the points table. Jos Buttler‘s men suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Kusal Mendis-led Sri Lanka to further sink their hopes of a World Cup defence.
The three lions were blown away by Sri Lanka as the defending champions were bowled out for just 156. In reply, the Lankan Lions made light work of the meagre chase as they gunned down the target in 25.4 overs with 8 wickets in hand. The three lions recorded their third lowest 1st innings total against Sri Lanka in ODIs. As they further sink in the World Cup points table, England have registered an embarassing record.
The English side has become the first defending team in the 48-year-old ODI World Cup history to lose four of their first five matches in the 50-over tournament. The worst start in the tournament earlier belonged to Australia and Sri Lanka when they lost three of the opening five fixtures in their title defence in 1992 and 1999, respectively.
Defending champions in their first five games of WC title defence
1979 – West Indies: Won 4 of the 5 games (one abandoned)
1983 – West Indies: Lost 1 out of 5
1987 – India: Lost 1 out of 5
1992 – Australia: Lost 3 out of 5
1996 – Pakistan: Lost 1 out of 5
1999 – Sri Lanka: Lost 3 out of 5
2003 – Australia: Won first five
2007 – Australia: Won first five
2011 – Australia: Lost 1 out of 5
2015 – India: Won first five
2019 – Australia: Lost 1 out of 5
2023 – England: Lost 4 out of 5
Also, this was England’s third consecutive loss in the World Cup, which made them record another disappointing feat. This was the first time since 1996 that an English side has lost three matches in a row in the 50-over World Cup. England have not been able to beat Sri Lanka in their last five ODI WC meetings. The last time they defeated the Lankan Lions was in 1999. Since 2007, Sri Lanka have had the better of England.