‘It has been a disastrous defence’ – Former England skipper comes down heavily on Three Lions post disastrous ODI WC 2023 campaign

ODI World Cup 2023 defending champions, England has had a forgettable tournament so far. Ahead of the tournament, they were the semis contenders. Fans across the globe have been surprised by their five losses out of six games. At this point, they are lurking at the last place in the points table. If they don’t finish in the top seven rankings, the Three Lions will also miss out on the Champions Trophy 2025 spot.

Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Atherton has torn down the current team for their dismal performances.

“It has been a disastrous defence of the title,” Atherton said on the latest episode of The Apex Council Review podcast.

“I think most people could accept a team that played pretty decent cricket and just came up short. That happens in sport. There is no divine right to win every game, no divine right to win these competitions, and England have been very good for a long time. But it’s the way England have just been hammered. If you look at the defeats, five of them have been by unbelievable margins. I don’t think anybody saw that coming, and it is very difficult to understand,” added Atherton.

The end result is that England hasn’t done well: Atherton

The cricketer-turned-broadcaster also pointed out some poor decisions during the tournament. One of them was putting South Africa to bat in a searing heat and high humidity levels. The defending champions lost that game by 229 runs.

“The end result is England have not done very well, and therefore you’ll find reasons to fit the performance,” Atherton said.

“So whether it’s the toss, whether it’s the selection, whether it’s the central contracts that were announced, who knows? You could probably say it’s a combination of all those things, little things that have added up and eventually have meant that this team is a long way short of where it should be,” added Atherton.