The summer Jimmy (and Mo) caught the train

ENGLAND finished the Test summer on their lowest note since Kiwi head coach Brendon McCullum took charge in May 2022 after a woeful eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at the Oval. 

Previously, it had looked as if England were going to be able to move on from the James Anderson era in impressive fashion by claiming a clean sweep of both home Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. 

But the collective performance of the team against the Sri Lankans in the third Test smacked of the sort of arrogance of which England are probably often wrongly accused. 

Losing the toss for the third time in the series, the home side nevertheless reached a solid 221-3 at the end of a first day which was marred by bad light and the strange eagerness of umpires Chris Gaffaney and Joel Wilson to take the players off the pitch at the earliest opportunity. 

It meant ticket holders saw only 44 overs on a day of absolutely no rain in south London whatsoever - and it rightly reopened the debate over whether punters were getting sufficient value for money. 

Back to the match itself - and, on day two, England progressed to 261-3 but then proceeded to throw away their wickets with a series of loose shots, losing 7-64 to finish on a suboptimal total of 325. 

Following that, some outrageously attacking fields bordered on being somewhat disrespectful to Sri Lanka - while a further element of farce was introduced by umpires Gaffaney and Wilson in the seventh over. 

Examining their light meters, the officials insisted Chris Woakes finished his fourth set by bowling four balls of club-standard off-spin despite sunshine beginning to beam through the clouds.

Then, Gus Atkinson was allowed to take the next over and bowl at 88mph - and, considering this was meant to be elite sport, much of the action and officiating on display left a lot to be desired. 

Rather more satisfyingly, England produced a better performance with the ball at the start of day three to dismiss their opponents for 263 and gain a seemingly handy first innings lead of 62.

Here then was the chance for the home side to bat Sri Lanka out of the game and make a major stride towards that clean sweep of victories. 

Instead, England were 71-6 at the afternoon drinks break as left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando began to swing the ball beautifully. 

Then that became 82-7 in front of a stunned Oval crowd before Jamie Smith, to his credit, made 67 in a fine counter-attacking effort to drag England's lead beyond 200 at tea. 

On a pitch offering plenty, a prime English bowling unit might have been able to defend the 219 runs required by Sri Lanka - but this extremely raw attack was badly exposed against the finesse of Pathum Nissanka. 

The opener carried his bat for a delightful Test career-best 127 to earn his country a memorable win, 26 years on from the triumph in their only other visit to the Oval in 1998.

By contrast, for England, this was a highly damaging defeat which effectively ended their already slim hopes of a maiden appearance in the World Test Championship final.

Now, it seems quite a while ago - even though the first home Test of the year did not take place until July to accommodate the ICC T20 World Cup which took place throughout June.

But Anderson's retirement remained the main story of an underwhelming Test season - one without a high-profile visitor to these shores and in which tickets went unsold while big sporting events such as the Olympics, Paralympics and European Championship happened elsewhere. 

Ahead of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's, Anderson announced it would be his last after the England hierarchy stated explicitly that, in preparation for the next away Ashes series, he would not be considered for any squads beyond the end of the summer. 

In that sense, it was a slightly awkward departure - but, although the now 42-year-old felt he still had more to give, he also confirmed understood the decision and there were no hard feelings. 

This was a far more understated farewell than that of his long-time strike partner Stuart Broad, who retired against the old enemy Australia by scoring a six from his final ball with the bat and taking a wicket with his final ball, 

And, in itself, that was quite typical of Anderson. While Broad finished with a fantastic return of 604 wickets, he particularly relished Ashes contests and revelled in picking his moments. 

By contrast, Anderson was simply the embodiment of consistency. Indeed, the opposition did not seem to matter to him as long as he was taking wickets. 

Never the fastest, the Burnley Express made up for a lack of outright pace with a prodigious ability to swing and reverse swing the ball. Sometimes, in cloudy and humid conditions, he was pretty much unplayable. 

Anderson, though, was more than a mere one-trick pony - and it was obvious he worked hard at his craft throughout his career. 

Unusually for a pace bowler, his average - like a fine wine - continued to improve with age, and even in overseas conditions - the flatter decks of Australia and rank turners in the subcontinent - he was rarely less than miserly in controlling the run-rate on days when he could not be at his penetrative best. 

Strangely, on English soil for his final Test, Anderson was in fact not quite at his best as, perhaps for once, the emotion of the occasion got the better of him. 

It certainly was not the West Indies batting outfit - and, even in this rather quiet conclusion to his career, he still took 1-26 and 3-32 to finish on an incredible 704 Test scalps. 

On the all-time list, Jimmy from Burnley sits third with only two spinners - Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (800) and the late Aussie great Shane Warne (708) - above him. 

Now, the strain on the body and the sheer plethora of opportunities available in the game for pace bowlers to swan off to less physically demanding and money-rich T20 competitions means that Anderson's record might never be beaten. 

However, Anderson loved the elongated struggle provided by First Class cricket - and, despite the positive results for England this summer, his longevity and consistency leaves a massive hole to fill. 

In fairness, there are some signs that England will be able finally to move on from the Anderson-Broad axis.

Surrey fast-bowler Atkinson enjoyed a dream debut, taking 7-45 and 5-61 for match figures of 12-106, as England blew away the West Indies for 121 and 136 in the first Test at Lord's. 

More remarkably still, Atkinson produced this effort despite playing while the speeding driver who killed his mother in a crash was being sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

And, commendably, the 26-year-old continued to take wickets throughout the summer to finish the home Test season on 34 scalps at an average of 20.17. 

Thankfully, for the sake of cricket, the second Test against the Windies at Trent Bridge was slightly more competitive as the visitors registered a score of 457 - and even took a first innings lead of 41 runs. 

On a good wicket in Nottingham, though, England also made hay with the bat, scoring 400+ scores in both innings for the first time in history as Ollie Pope (121), Joe Root (122) and Harry Brook (109) all reached three figures during the match. 

Inevitably, the resulting chase of 385 proved far too much for the West Indies as young spinner Shoaib Bashir made his first major contribution in an England shirt with a match-winning 5-41. 

As such, Bashir notably became - at the age of 20 years and 279 days - the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a home Test, coincidentally taking that record from Anderson. 

In the third Test at Edgbaston, West Indies - merely trying to salvage some pride - elected to bat in the third Test at Edgbaston, but could only produce another under-par effort of 282 in the first innings. 

The second innings was even tougher for the men from the Caribbean as Mark Wood (5-40) proved far too hot to handle - and openers Ben Duckett and skipper Ben Stokes were able easily to knock off the runs for a 10-wicket victory inside three days.

Stokes had opened the batting for only the second time in his Test career after Zak Crawley fractured a finger in the field. 

By the time that the Sri Lanka series came around, though, Stokes too was injured after tearing his left hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in the truly lamentable Hundred competition.

That meant instead that Dan Lawrence came in at the top of the order - but the 27-year-old middle-order man rarely looked comfortable in the role and scored just 120 runs at an average of 20, with a top score of 35.

Lawrence was not alone in his struggles. Brook disappointed for the first time in a series while stand-in skipper Ollie Pope seemed slightly overawed by the position and his form suffered badly until his 154 in a losing cause. 

Consequently, the batting unit was again more often than not propped up by Root - and his twin tons in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's took him above Sir Alastair Cook to the top of the list of England century-makers in the format. 

Root now has 34 Test centuries and 12,402 runs - and his uncharacteristic failure to produce a significant score in the third Test defeat only served to emphasise just how greatly England rely upon their former captain. 

Wicket-keeper Smith at least can hold his head up following a more than decent start to his own Test career. 

Consistently smart behind the stumps with his glovework, the 24-year-old also made significant contributions with the bat including a maiden Test century in the first Test at Old Trafford to take that match away from Sri Lanka. 

Indeed, this was still a largely successful summer for an England team which is clearly in transition - and too much introspection for a side in development can be just as damaging as too little. 

Not that there is a lot of time for a deep analysis in any case. The Test team are back in action in just 26 days on 7 October in a three-match tour of Pakistan ahead of a further three games away in New Zealand before Christmas. 

And, prior to all that, England take on Australia in three home T20 Internationals and five One-Day Internationals in a series of matches which will begin today and end on 29 September as mid-autumn approaches. 

The main significance of the white-ball matches is that they will be the first for the team under McCullum after the 42-year-old replaced tactical dunce Matthew Mott

Unsurprisingly, McCullum has already moved to put his own stamp on the squads - and there is no room for 37-year-old Moeen Ali. 

Moeen took the decision upon his omission to retire from international cricket - but, while he cannot boast the sort of figures achieved by Anderson, his tally of 204 Test wickets included a dozen in the successful 2015 Ashes series. 

Meanwhile, Moeen's willingness to bat anywhere in the order made him a key figure over the years in white-ball squads - and he played a part in the triumphant 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup tournaments. 

Nevertheless, with little room for sentiment, the Bazball revolution continues unabated - and, despite the patchy results and some annoying performances, it has been largely good couple of years following the staid tactics of Chris Silverwood. 

But, with all of the teams united once again under one coach and an Ashes series just over a year away, the McCullum era really has now begun to enter the phase on which it truly will be judged. 


RESULTS

	WEST INDIES • England won the series 3-0
10-14 July	England 371 beat West Indies 121 & 136 by an innings and 114 runs	Lord's
18-21 July	England 416 & 425 beat West Indies 457 & 143 by 241 runs	Trent Bridge
26-28 July	England 376 & 87-0 beat West Indies 282 & 175 by 10 wickets	Headingley
	SRI LANKA • England won the series 2-1
21-24 August	England 358 & 205-5 beat Sri Lanka 236 & 326 by five wickets	Old Trafford
29 August -1 September	England 427 & 251 beat Sri Lanka 196 & 292 by 190 runs	Lord's
6-9 September	Sri Lanka 263 & 219-2 beat England 325 & 156 by eight wickets	The Oval

FIXTURES

	AUSTRALIA • Fixtures
11 September	FIRST T20  (D/N)	Southampton
13 September	SECOND T20  (D/N)	Cardiff
15 September	THIRD T20  (D/N)	Old Trafford
19 September	FIRST ODI  (D/N)	Trent Bridge
21 September	SECOND ODI	Headingley
24 September	THIRD ODI  (D/N)	Chester-le-Street
27 September	FOURTH ODI  (D/N)	Lord's
29 September	FIFTH ODI	Bristol

	PAKISTAN • Fixtures
7-11 October	FIRST TEST	Multan
15-19 October	SECOND TEST	Karachi
24-28 October	THIRD TEST	Rawalpindi
	NEW ZEALAND • Fixtures
27 November- 1 December	FIRST TEST	Christchurch
5-9 December	SECOND TEST	Wellington
13-17 December	THIRD TEST	Hamilton

Not defending anything

AHEAD of the Cricket World Cup, England captain Jos Buttler stated plainly: "We're not defending anything" - and, on that note, he has been proven to be entirely correct.

Buttler intended his words to mean that England would attack this tournament head on - but, in reality, his team stumbled for the last five-and-a-half weeks from one miserable defeat to the next.

The campaign began back on 5 October with a heavy reverse to New Zealand, the side who they had squeezed past by the barest of margins in the Final at Lord's four years earlier.

And, although a thumping victory over Bangladesh in the second match gave little indication of what was to follow, England were brought quickly back down to earth following a historic 69-run defeat to Afghanistan.

From that point onwards, it got much worse. South Africa took the English bowling attack to the cleaners as the 2019 champions came within a single run of conceding 400 for the first time ever in a One Day International.

In response, England collapsed under scoreboard pressure and ultimately finished 229 runs behind on 170 all out.

Five days later in Bangalore, England's humiliation was complete as they succumbed by eight wickets to an erratic Sri Lanka side after being bowled out for 156 in 33.2 overs while a literal vulture circled the ground.

That left 16.4 overs unbowled in that innings - 100 balls exactly. A screeching irony if ever there was one.

One hundred balls one week - one hundred runs the next; it felt as if the cricket gods were actively haunting English cricket with the number 100.

England next went down against India by that margin despite an improved bowling display which restricted the hosts to 229-9.

It proved more than enough, though, as a brittle batting line-up wilted once again.

Ben Stokes attempted to hit his way into some form but was out for a duck off the 10th ball of a torturous innings.

Yet, remarkably, given their sheer collective incompetence, England had not officially been eliminated as a result of their fifth defeats out of six.

However, Australia were more than happy to hammer the final nail in the holders' coffin - and eventually did, as England failed to chase down a modest target of 287, despite the efforts of Stokes who played a far more measured innings.

That left rock-bottom England with two dead-rubbers against Netherlands and Pakistan - although the importance of these fixtures was rather randomly increased mid-tournament.

Confirmation came from the International Cricket Council (ICC) that only the top eight would qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy, an announcement which caught several teams - including England - by surprise.

It is unclear exactly when the ICC had decided this and the cynic will find it difficult to believe the decision was nothing other than an attempt to give some sort of meaning to matches which would have been otherwise quite meaningless.

Ultimately, England finished seventh to avoid that indignity, comfortably beating Netherlands by 160 runs before making it back-to-back wins against Pakistan where they belatedly showed some signs of being back to their best to compile a score of 337-9.

Pakistan, and neighbours Afghanistan, were the only teams in the final round of matches with a technical chance of breaking into the top four.

However, both had been left with an almost impossible task to finish above New Zealand on net run rate after the Black Caps made light work of Sri Lanka.

Certainly then, there can be no doubt that the best four teams - India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - have made it through to the knockout stage.

Pretty much everyone, though, had identified at least three of the sides since the end of matchday four back in mid-October.

Indeed, a lack of overall drama has been reflected by a scarcity of close finishes throughout the competition - with the two biggest World Cup wins in terms of runs both occurring during this edition.

By contrast, only one match has been won by less than a 20-run margin and only one match won by a chasing team more than seven wickets down.

Moreover, the fact that those two matches - Australia v New Zealand and South Africa v Pakistan - occurred within 24 hours of each other has left long stretches in the schedule with a tedious lack of jeopardy or excitement.

Nevertheless, there have been some outstanding individual performances - especially with the bat.

Leading run-scorer Virat Kohli engineered his first century of the tournament against Bangladesh by retaining the strike - then, against South Africa on his 35th birthday, he drew level with his idol Sachin Tendulkar on 49 ODI tons, equalling the all-time record.

Quinton de Kock was the second most prolific player, scoring four centuries against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand in what he has stated will be his last World Cup.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, in his first ever senior international tournament, 23-year-old New Zealander Rachin Ravindra has already made three tons against England on his World Cup debut, Australia and Pakistan.

The Australians have dominated in terms of producing the biggest individual scores with Glenn Maxwell hitting a mammoth unbeaten 201 off 128 balls to save the five-time champions from perilous positions of 49-4 and 91-7 against the doughty Afghans.

For good measure, Mitchell Marsh then smashed 177 not out off 132 balls in the Aussies' very next match against Bangladesh for the second highest score of the tournament.

It has been undoubtedly a much more difficult competition with the ball, in general - but it is yet another man in Canary Yellow, spinner Adam Zampa, who leads the way with 22 wickets.

Having said that, Mohammed Shami has easily been the pick of the bowlers in the group stage.

The veteran seamer took 16 wickets at an average of under 10-a-piece in just five matches - including 5-18 against Sri Lanka and 5-54 against New Zealand - as India successfully bowled out seven of their nine opponents on their way to a perfect nine wins out of nine.

At the risk of being accused of sour grapes though, this has sadly not been a well-organised or well-delivered tournament by the ICC, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) or the Indian authorities.

For a start, the organisers were still rejigging the match schedule and venues as late as 9 August, leaving travelling fans with no hope of making advance plans.

Pakistan supporters found it particularly difficult to gain visa access to their neighbouring country - and, against Australia, the few who had made it were even stopped from cheering on their side by police in the stadium.

Beyond the India matches which all had raucous atmospheres of course, crowds otherwise - while not low - have looked sparse in some of the more cavernous grounds.

Sometimes it makes you wonder if the people in charge actually want One Day International cricket to fail - and there is certainly plenty of concern for the future of the format.

Nevertheless, by far the biggest opprobrium in this regard should be reserved for the players and teams who have disrespected the 50-over game - and, as defending champions, England especially have charges to answer for their desperate performances.

Even before the start of the tournament, muddled thinking was evident with World Cup-winning opener Jason Roy told he was in the squad before being discarded at the last minute for Harry Brook because of concerns over a back injury.

Such worries did not seem to be considered when it came to Stokes after he dramatically reversed his decision to retire from ODIs and slotted back into the 15-man selection despite not being fully fit himself.

Worse was to follow. Spooked by the prevalence of T20 franchise leagues around the world, the ECB offered multi-year deals to centrally-contracted players for the first time.

Remarkably though, the deals were signed off right in the middle of a tournament with the very same players who were making a complete mess of their trophy defence - all with the sole exception of David Willey.

To his credit, Willey - who was far from the worst performer - continued to steam in and the left-arm seamer was rewarded on his final appearance against Pakistan with his 100th ODI wicket.

Understandably though, the 33-year-old has now retired from international cricket - and the decision not to offer him a deal was undoubtedly the final straw.

Rumours abounded of disharmony in the camp - rumours which were denied by Australian head coach Matthew Mott who merely watched on gormlessly as his team was routinely dismantled.

Mott - who had previously led an all-conquering Aussie women's team which barely needed coaching to beat their modest competition - seemed to lack any idea how to turn things around when England's hitherto talented batting unit began to falter.

Instead, the Aussie made few public statements and seemed to have even fewer ideas, shirking all responsibility as his side sank ever deeper into the quicksand.

Furthermore, the question must be asked that, if it was still such a happy camp, then how were England playing quite this poorly?

Some of it can be explained by a lack of practice with the holders playing only 42 matches in the 50-over format between their triumph and this tournament compared to 88 games between 2015 and 2019.

Additionally, some of those matches were played at the exact same time as England were also contesting a Test series, resulting in a lack of cohesion between the all-format players and the white-ball specialists.

Put simply though, some of England players in India are just too old and have been badly exposed by the intensity of a long, drawn out World Cup.

In the defeats to Sri Lanka, India and Australia, England did not field a single player aged under 30 - and it was really quite sad to see this golden generation fail over and over again.

Hopefully, once the dust settles, the players in this squad can be remembered for what it achieved rather than what it became - but, contracts or not, this really should be the end of the line for the majority, at least in ODI cricket.

That should include Buttler who has struggled to step up as Eoin Morgan's successor and has even seen his batting form crumble to the extent that he averaged an abysmal 15.33 at this World Cup.

Yet, ECB managing director Rob Key has backed Buttler and Mott with the former included by the latter in the next white-ball squad for a tour of the Caribbean next month.

For now, though, England must watch on as India, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia squabble over a prize which was so hard-won but sadly also so easily given away.

GROUP STAGE TABLE

		W	L	NRR	Pts	Results
(Q)	INDIA	9	0	2.57	18	WWWWWWWWW
(Q)	SOUTH AFRICA	7	2	1.26	14	WWLWWWWLW
(Q)	AUSTRALIA	7	2	0.84	14	LLWWWWWWW
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	5	4	0.74	10	WWWWLLLLW
5	PAKISTAN	4	5	-0.20	8	WWLLLLWWL
6	AFGHANISTAN	4	5	-0.34	8	LLWLWWWLL
7	ENGLAND	3	6	-0.57	6	LWLLLLLWW
8	BANGLADESH	2	7	-1.09	4	WLLLLLLWL
9	SRI LANKA	2	7	-1.42	4	LLLWWLLLL
10	NETHERLANDS	2	7	-1.83	4	LLWLLWLLL

GROUP STAGE RESULTS

01 Thu 05-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	282-9	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by nine wickets
Ahmedabad		NEW ZEALAND	283-1 36.2
02 Fri 06-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	286 49	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 81 runs
Hyderabad		NETHERLANDS	205 41
03 Sat 07-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	156 37.2	▪️ BANGLADESH won by six wickets
Dharamshala		BANGLADESH	158-4 34.4
04 Sat 07-Oct	9:30	SOUTH AFRICA	428-5	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 102 runs
Delhi		SRI LANKA	326 44.5
05 Sun 08-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	199 49.3	▪️ INDIA won by six wickets
Chennai		INDIA	201-4 41.2
06 Mon 09-Oct	9:30	NEW ZEALAND	322-7	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 99 runs
Hyderabad		NETHERLANDS	223 46.3
07 Tue 10-Oct	6:00	BANGLADESH	227 48.2	▪️ ENGLAND won by 137 runs
Dharamshala		ENGLAND	364-9
08 Tue 10-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	345-4 48.2	▪️ PAKISTAN won by six wickets
Hyderabad		SRI LANKA	344-9
09 Wed 11-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	272-8	▪️ INDIA won by eight wickets
Delhi		INDIA	273-2 35
10 Thu 12-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	177 40.5	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 134 runs
Lucknow		SOUTH AFRICA	311-7
11 Fri 13-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	245-9	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by eight wickets
Chennai		NEW ZEALAND	248-2 42.5
12 Sat 14-Oct	9:30	INDIA	192-3 30.3	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Ahmedabad		PAKISTAN	191 42.5
13 Sun 15-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	284 49.5	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by 69 runs
Delhi		ENGLAND	215 40.3
14 Mon 16-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	215-5 35.2	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by five wickets
Lucknow		SRI LANKA	209 43.3
15 Tue 17-Oct	9:30	SOUTH AFRICA	207 42.5	▪️ NETHERLANDS won by 38 runs
Dharamshala		NETHERLANDS	245-8 43
16 Wed 18-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	139 34.4	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 149 runs
Chennai		NEW ZEALAND	288-6
17 Thu 19-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	256-8	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Pune		INDIA	261-3 41.3
18 Fri 20-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	367-9	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 62 runs
Bangalore		PAKISTAN	305 45.3
19 Sat 21-Oct	6:00	NETHERLANDS	262 49.4	▪️ SRI LANKA won by five wickets
Lucknow		SRI LANKA	263-5 48.2
20 Sat 21-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	170 22	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 229 runs
Mumbai		SOUTH AFRICA	399-7
21 Sun 22-Oct	9:30	INDIA	274-6 48	▪️ INDIA won by four wickets
Dharamshala		NEW ZEALAND	273
22 Mon 23-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	286-2 49	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by eight wickets
Chennai		PAKISTAN	282-7
23 Tue 24-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	233 46.4	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 149 runs
Mumbai		SOUTH AFRICA	382-5
24 Wed 25-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	399-8	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 309 runs
Delhi		NETHERLANDS	90 21
25 Thu 26-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	156 33.2	▪️ SRI LANKA won by eight wickets
Bangalore		SRI LANKA	160-2 25.4
26 Fri 27-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	270 46.4	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by one wicket
Chennai		SOUTH AFRICA	271-9 47.2
27 Sat 28-Oct	6:00	AUSTRALIA	388 49.2	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by five runs
Dharamshala		NEW ZEALAND	383-9
28 Sat 28-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	142 42.2	▪️ NETHERLANDS won by 87 runs
Kolkata		NETHERLANDS	229
29 Sun 29-Oct	8:30	ENGLAND	129 34.5	▪️ INDIA won by 100 runs
Lucknow		INDIA	229-9
30 Mon 30-Oct	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	242-3 45.2	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by seven wickets
Pune		SRI LANKA	241 49.3
31 Tue 31-Oct	8:30	BANGLADESH	204 45.1	▪️ PAKISTAN won by seven wickets
Kolkata		PAKISTAN	205-3 32.3
32 Wed 01-Nov	8:30	NEW ZEALAND	167 35.3	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 190 runs
Pune		SOUTH AFRICA	357-4
33 Thu 02-Nov	8:30	INDIA	357-8	▪️ INDIA won by 302 runs
Mumbai		SRI LANKA	55 19.4
34 Fri 03-Nov	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	181-3 31.3	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by seven wickets
Lucknow		NETHERLANDS	179 46.3
35 Sat 04-Nov	5:00	NEW ZEALAND	401-6	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 21 runs DLS
Bangalore		PAKISTAN	200-1 25.3
36 Sat 04-Nov	8:30	AUSTRALIA	286 49.3	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 33 runs
Ahmedabad		ENGLAND	253 48.1
37 Sun 05-Nov	8:30	INDIA	326-5	▪️ INDIA won by 243 runs
Kolkata		SOUTH AFRICA	83 27.1
38 Mon 06-Nov	8:30	BANGLADESH	282-7 41.1	▪️ BANGLADESH won by three wickets
Delhi		SRI LANKA	279 49.3
39 Tue 07-Nov	8:30	AUSTRALIA	293-7 46.5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by three wickets
Mumbai		AFGHANISTAN	291-5
40 Wed 08-Nov	8:30	ENGLAND	339-9	▪️ ENGLAND won by 160 runs
Pune		NETHERLANDS	179 37.2
41 Thu 09-Nov	8:30	NEW ZEALAND	172-5 23.2	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by five wickets
Bangalore		SRI LANKA	171 46.4
42 Fri 10-Nov	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	244	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by five wickets
Ahmedabad		SOUTH AFRICA	247-5 47.3
43 Sat 11-Nov	5:00	AUSTRALIA	307-2 44.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by eight wickets
Pune		BANGLADESH	306-8
44 Sat 11-Nov	8:30	ENGLAND	337-9	▪️ ENGLAND won by 93 runs
Kolkata		PAKISTAN	244 43.3
45 Sun 12-Nov	8:30	INDIA	410-4	▪️ INDIA won by 160 runs
Bangalore		NETHERLANDS	250 47.5

SEMI FINAL RESULTS

SF1 Wed 15-Nov	8:30	INDIA	397-4	▪️ INDIA won by 70 runs
Mumbai		NEW ZEALAND	327 48.5
SF2 Thu 16-Nov	8:30	SOUTH AFRICA	212 49.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by three wickets
Kolkata		AUSTRALIA	215-7 47.2

CENTURIES

201* Glenn Maxwell (Australia) v Afghanistan 

177* Mitchell Marsh (Australia) v Bangladesh
174 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Bangladesh 

163 David Warner (Australia) v Pakistan
152* Devon Conway (New Zealand) v England

140 Dawid Malan (England) v Bangladesh

137 Travis Head (Australia) v India FINAL
134 Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) v India SF

131* Muhammad Rizwan (Pakistan) v Sri Lanka

131 Rohit Sharma (India) v Afghanistan

130 Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) v India

129 Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan) v Australia

128* Shreyas Iyer (India) v Netherlands

126* Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) v New Zealand

123* Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v England

122 Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) v Pakistan

121 Mitchell Marsh (Australia) v Pakistan

117 Virat Kohli (India) v New Zealand SF
116 Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v Australia

113 Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan) v Sri Lanka

111 Mahmudullah (Bangladesh) v South Africa

109 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Australia

109 Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa) v England

109 Travis Head (Australia) v New Zealand
108 Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

108 Sadeera Samarawickrama (Sri Lanka) v Pakistan
108 Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v Pakistan
108 Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) v Bangladesh

108 Ben Stokes (England) v Netherlands

106 Aiden Markram (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

106 Glenn Maxwell (Australia) v Netherlands

105 Shreyas Iyer (India) v New Zealand SF
104 David Warner (Australia) v Netherlands
103* Virat Kohli (India) v Bangladesh

102 KL Rahul (India) v Netherlands

101* Virat Kohli (India) v South Africa
100 David Miller (South Africa) v Australia SF
100 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

FIVE-WICKET HAULS

7-57 Mohammed Shami (India) v New Zealand SF
5-18 Mohammed Shami (India) v Sri Lanka
5-33 Ravindra Jadeja (India) v South Africa
5-52 Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) v Netherlands

5-54 Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) v Australia

5-54 Mohammed Shami (India) v New Zealand
5-80 Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) v India

Cricket World Cup preview: Confident India hold all the cards

• CRICKET WORLD CUP •

• 2023 •

INDIA ICC ODI ranking 1 • ODI record since CWC19 W40 L22 NR6 Win% 64.5 
Coach Rahul Dravid (since November 2021)
Squad Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
Best performance Winners 1983, 2011
• Hosts and favourites India have hit top gear in the run-up to the Cricket World Cup, breezing to an eighth Asia Cup triumph by bowling Sri Lanka out for 50 before chasing the target without loss in 37 balls, before defeating Australia 2-1 in a bi-lateral series. Those recent achievements have elevated the Indians to number one in the ODI rankings, making them only the second side after South Africa in 2012 to top the standings in all three formats of the game concurrently - and head coach Rahul Dravid, a legendary player in his own right, has benefited from the strong return to form of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, and the return to fitness of key bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Experienced heads Virat Kohli and Ravi Ashwin, a late selection for the injured Axar Patel, are actually the only two members of the squad who were part of the team which won the trophy when it was last on home soil in 2011 so there remain legitimate questions over whether this current vintage can cope with the almost ridiculous level of pressure exerted by the most vociferous supporters in world cricket. All things being equal, though, India have the talent - and, indeed, the form - to make reality reflect the rankings by winning the World Cup for a third time.
• Prediction Winners 

PAKISTAN ICC ODI ranking 2 • ODI record since CWC19 W24 L12 T1 Win% 64.8
Coach Grant Bradburn (since May 2023)
Squad Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim
Best performance Winners 1992
• Pakistan have already overcome their first obstacle at this Cricket World Cup - obtaining visa access to neighbours India, following a predictable stand-off between the two adversaries. Of course, Pakistan did not help matters by delaying the naming of their squad - but, then again, the Indians have not exactly been the most organised of hosts either with the match schedule and venues still being rejigged as late as 9 August. One of the nine amended games was the India v Pakistan match which was moved forward by 24 hours to 14 October to avoid a clash with a religious festival in Ahmedabad - and, in their first encounter on Indian soil since the T20 World Cup in 2016, the visitors will be desperate to improve their horrific ODI World Cup record against their greatest rivals. It currently reads played seven, lost seven - and it has undoubtedly contributed to the Falcons' extremely modest overall record at the tournament in the 21st century, with only one semi final appearance coming in the last five editions. With the ferocious pace of Shaheen Shah Afridi leading the attack, this tournament represents an extremely good chance for Pakistan to make a return to the top table; however, the Falcons' batting will need to improve if they want to double their number of World Cup titles on 19 November.
• Prediction Semi finals

AUSTRALIA ICC ODI ranking 3 • ODI record since CWC19 W25 L20 NR1 Win% 55.5
Coach Andrew McDonald (since April 2022)
Squad Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Best performance Winners 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015
• Five-time champions Australia have endured an uncharacteristically indifferent build-up to the Cricket World Cup, falling to a 3-2 series defeat to South Africa from 2-0 up before a further 2-1 series defeat in India. At one stage in that sequence, the Aussies lost five matches in a row and conceded more than 300 runs in four of the defeats, including a mammoth 416-5 against the Proteas. Notably, in that match, spinner Adam Zampa recorded the joint worst ever figures by a bowler in One Day International cricket to finish on 0-113 - and the most pertinent reason to bring this fact up is that Zampa is the Baggy Greens' only frontline spinner in a strangely imbalanced squad. Instead, the selection from Andrew McDonald is full of bits-and-pieces players - and Australia look set to rely perhaps more heavily than ever upon the batting prowess of Steve Smith, scoring power of Glenn Maxwell and the bowling ferocity of Mitchell Starc. The fast-bowler warmed up nicely for the tournament with a hat-trick against Netherlands in a washed out game - and, while there have been better Australia teams in the past, the Baggy Greens will no doubt remain as doggedly competitive in seeking a record eighth appearance in a World Cup Final.
• Prediction Runners-up

SOUTH AFRICA ICC ODI ranking 4 • ODI record since CWC19 W21 L16 NR5 Win% 56.7
Coach Rob Walter (since February 2023)
Squad Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams
Best performance Semi finals 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015
• South Africa head into this Cricket World Cup looking to make amends for their poor display four years ago in England when their best performances came all too late. By the time the Proteas thumped Sri Lanka by nine wickets and then squeezed past Australia by 10 runs, a low confidence outfit had already been eliminated following three defeats and a washout in their first four games. There is far more confidence in the South African camp for this edition - and Rob Walter's squad warmed up for the tournament with a fine comeback from 2-0 down to win a five-match One Day series against Australia thanks to some stunning contributions with the bat from Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram. In support of that, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will provide plenty of threat with the ball, but the loss of the excellent Anrich Nortje on the eve of the tournament to a back injury really is a devastating blow - and, indeed, it is a lack of sufficient depth could prove costly for the Proteas in their chase for a place back in the top four.
• Prediction Group stage

ENGLAND ICC ODI ranking 5 • ODI record since CWC19 W23 L16 NR6 Win% 58.9
Coach Matthew Mott (since May 2022)
Squad Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
Best performance Winners 2019
• Defending champions England have been on quite the journey since winning by the barest of margins on that gloriously sunny July day at Lord's over four years ago. The subsequent drop in the rankings to fifth place has rather laid bare the fact that it has not been exactly the most comfortable of rides - and, certainly, a lot has changed in the intervening period. England have a new specialist white-ball coach, Australian Matthew Mott, while Jos Buttler took over the captaincy reins from Eoin Morgan upon the Dubliner's retirement in June last year. Furthermore, England have been extremely experimental with 28 different players used in 15 matches between February 2021 and February 2022 alone - while, at the same time, the domestic 50-over competition has been reduced to reserve status in favour of The Hundred, a risible format played nowhere else in the world. Then, in July last year, England Test captain Ben Stokes announced bombshell news as he retired from One Day International cricket, citing the congestion in the calendar for his decision. But, although ultimately the honour of defending a World Cup proved too tempting for Stokes who reversed his decision, a niggling knee injury and a far less experienced squad have contributed to the feeling that the 32-year-old may have been more prudent to stick with his original decision.
• Prediction Group stage

NEW ZEALAND ICC ODI ranking 6 • ODI record since CWC19 W26 L16 NR3 Win% 61.9
Coach Gary Stead (since August 2018)
Squad Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young
Best performance Runners-up 2015, 2019
• Still hurting, New Zealand arrive in India for the Cricket World Cup determined this time to go one better than four years ago when they lost only on a little-heard, and now discarded, boundary count regulation. It was, in fact, a second successive World Cup Final defeat for the Black Caps following a heavy loss to fellow co-hosts Australia in the 2015 edition - but, understandably, it is the tracing paper-thin margin of the 2019 reverse which remains an open wound for many of this squad. With Gary Stead still at the helm, the Kiwis are the only team to have retained the same coach between the two tournaments - and, led by skipper Kane Williamson and spearheaded by veteran bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee, no fewer than nine of the players have taken part at an ODI World Cup before. New Zealand are chock full of experience then - but, with a country from the Big Three of Australia, England and India awarded hosting rights yet again, Stead's men will need to break something of a glass ceiling to achieve their ultimate ambition.
• Prediction Semi finals

SRI LANKA ICC ODI ranking 7 • ODI record since CWC19 W30 L26 NR2 Win% 53.5
Coach Chris Silverwood (since April 2022)
Squad Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka
Best performance Winners 1996
• Sri Lanka failed to qualify directly for the Cricket World Cup for the first time requiring the fall-back route of the ICC Qualifier. In fairness, the qualification competition contributed to a confidence-boosting record sequence of 13 successive One Day International victories - but little else really could be garnered from winning a group otherwise featuring Scotland, Oman, Ireland and United Arab Emirates. At least the Lions did not suffer the same fate as fellow former winners, the West Indies, who failed to qualify at all. However, far more Sri Lankan hope derives from the performance of the team at home in the Asia Cup where wins over Bangladesh twice, Afghanistan and Pakistan sent Chris Silverwood's side all the way to the Final. There, though, old habits came creeping back as a fired-up India team destroyed the top and middle order - and, at one stage, Sri Lanka were 12-6 before eventually being bowled out for just 50. A subsequent warm-up defeat to Afghanistan has also given little sign of that the 1996 champions are anywhere near consistent enough to threaten a place in the knockout stage - and even matching their sixth-placed finish from four years ago might be a stretch.
• Prediction Group stage

BANGLADESH ICC ODI ranking 8 • ODI record since CWC19 W30 L21 NR3 Win% 58.8
Coach Chandika Hathurusingha (since January 2023)
Squad Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedi Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah
Best performance Quarter finals 2015
• The build-up to this Cricket World Cup for Bangladesh has been dominated by an escalating war of words between the two most notable cricketing figures in the country with skipper Shakib Al Hasan and his omitted predecessor Tamim Iqbal trading barbs. Officially, Tamim had been left out of the squad because of doubts over fitness after his well-publicised struggles with a back injury. However, Shakib has since accused opener Tamim of being "childish" and not a team player after he is said to have refused to bat in the middle order. At this point, the whole thing is a rather unseemly mess ahead of a tournament in which the Tigers should be looking to take advantage of relatively familiar conditions. Instead, recent form at the Asia Cup in August and September was nothing special - and, beyond all-rounder Shakib repeating his 2019 feat of scoring more than 600 runs and taking a five-for at the same tournament, there is precious little else to suggest Bangladesh make it into the top four. After all, even four years ago, Shakib's stunning contributions were only good enough for an eighth-placed finish.
• Prediction Group stage

AFGHANISTAN ICC ODI ranking 9 • ODI record since CWC19 W15 L14 NR2 Win% 51.7
Coach Jonathan Trott (since July 2022)
Squad Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq
Best performance Group stage 2015, 2019
• Played nine, lost nine - Afghanistan certainly found life tough four years ago at the Cricket World Cup in England. This edition in India at least should provide conditions slightly more to the liking of the Afghans - and, while they should expect to win anyway on 3 November against the lower-ranked Netherlands, there is enough talent in this squad to cause much more of a stir. Spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi are standout figures - but, as a whole, this Afghanistan outfit remains rough around the edges and suffers from a lack of regular match practice. That, in itself, should not really come as much of a surprise - opponents are understandably unwilling to tour the landlocked central Asian nation, especially since the Taliban regained control in August 2021, so matches are difficult to organise. Consequently, the team has been effectively consigned to perennial minnow status - despite the best efforts of former England batter Jonathan Trott, who currently finds himself in the rather unexpected position of Afghanistan head coach.
• Prediction Group stage

NETHERLANDS ICC ODI ranking 14 • ODI record since CWC19 W8 L24 T1 NR3 Win% 24.2
Coach Ryan Cook (since May 2022)
Squad Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht
Best performance Group stage 1996, 2003, 2007, 2011
• Netherlands belied the lowly 14th-placed ranking to make it into this 10-team Cricket World Cup - but Scotland will still be kicking themselves now that it is not them instead. Defending 277 in a winner-takes-all match, the Scots looked on course to make a fourth finals appearance when the Dutch were reduced to 163-5. But Durham all-rounder Bas de Leede had other ideas - and, having taken 5-52 with the ball, he finished on 123 not out with the bat as the Flying Dutchmen smashed 22 off the 41st over and 20 off the 42nd to win in pretty comfortable style in the end. Certainly, the Dutch fully deserve another shot at taking on the world cricketing elite having earlier held their nerve to beat two-time former winners West Indies in a Super Over with the men from Caribbean missing out altogether for the first time. Nevertheless, de Leede's audacious semi finals target looks especially fanciful, considering the Dutch lost 17 international matches in a row while taking part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League against the same elite opponents as they will face over the next five weeks.
• Prediction Group stage