Why It's All Gone Wrong For England At The World Cup?

Reigning champions England have lost three of their opening four World Cup matches, with Saturday's 229-run thrashing by South Africa in Mumbai their heaviest one-day international defeat. Three reasons Why It's All Gone Wrong For England At The World Cup?

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"The last time both England and South Africa played, they fell short chasing the target, so they need to be careful about what stats they are looking at," said Hussain.

With the exception of Reece Topley, whose World Cup could be over after he suffered a hand injury on Saturday, England have struggled to make an impact with the new ball.

All three of their defeats have featured a major innings by an opposition opener, with the 85 by South Africa's Reeza Hendricks the latest, as well as significant top-order partnerships.

Chris Woakes was dropped after taking just two wickets in three games at a hugely expensive average of 67.5, but his replacements fared little better as the Proteas piled up a mammoth 399-7.

England have long prided themselves on consistency of selection, yet they recalled Ben Stokes, Willey and Gus Atkinson against South Africa in place of Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Woakes.

Even then, they fielded an XI featuring just three players under the age of 32, a sign of how reliant T20 world champions England have become on past ODI glories since 2019.

The ease with which Stokes -- out for just five on Saturday in his first match of the tournament -- was allowed to reverse his ODI retirement for the World Cup, despite ongoing doubts over his bowling fitness, spoke volumes.

Meanwhile the downgrading of the domestic 50-over competition to the margins of the English season has hampered the development of a new generation of ODI cricketers.

Having revamped their one-day game after a 2015 World Cup debacle, England may need a fresh re-think after this edition as well.