Since winning the World Cup in 2019, England’s performances in the ODI format have taken a downward curve. It has become a boogie format for the side. The reason for their downfall in format has been attributed to the limited amount of the format available for the players coming up from the ranks in the domestic circuit due to the introduction of The Hundred in which eats away the August month of the calendar, and a decrease of 50-over cricket across the world in general because of a tight schedule. Regardless of the reasons, the 2023 World Cup was a disappointment, and so was the 2024 Champions Trophy for England. Both the ICC events displayed cracks in the batting unit, which struggled to adapt to the tempo to bat with in one-day games. On Tuesday, a similar crack was visible again, with the team losing seven wickets for 30 runs and putting in another below-par batting performance.
“I think inevitably because of how England have played, that’s the straight line you draw,” unhappy Michael Atherton said on Sky Cricket’s after England were bundled out for 131 and visitors South Africa chased down the target in 20.5 overs and seven wickets in hand.
“If you get beat like that, play like that it’s the obvious angle to take. England have unquestionably been caught cold here,” continued the former opener. “South Africa look like a side that have been playing 50-over cricket. English players have been playing the Hundred. They’ve had no chance for preparation, they’re playing a completely different format, and it looked like it today,” he added.
“If you think of players like Root, Brook, Duckett, they’ve come straight from an arduous five-Test series against India, straight into the Hundred, straight here, so you can argue they are over-cricketed in a way,” said Atherton
“Your mindset for cricket is not quite in the right place. One thing for me is that one-day cricket is becoming tournament cricket,” Shaun Pollock chipped in the matter. “You have to perform on the day. There is no we will write this off and move on to the next one. How can we still be competitive in this game and not be bowled out for 130?”
