Former England captain Michael Atherton shared that the team may be at the end of their journey in the World Cup 2023 following another shocking loss to Sri Lanka by eight wickets in Bengaluru on October 26. Coming into the game in a near must-win situation, England lost once again. Considered among the pre-tournament favourites, England’s performances have left everyone in shock as well.

Speaking to Sky Sports after another England defeat, Atherton said, “We’ve all been there in teams that are low on confidence and are struggling. No team has a divine right to be at the top of its game all the time. We’ve looked at the factors over the last five games of this competition, but if you look a bit deeper you could argue this is a team at the end of the cycle. It’s all very saying what you want to do when you’re struggling and down on confidence, it’s not always easy to put those fine words and aspirations into practice.”

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However, coming off their incredible ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup wins in 2019 and 2022, Jos Buttler-led England entered the tournament high on confidence to defend their title as well. However, they lost to New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, and won over Bangladesh so far. And, Michael Atherton blamed England playing fewer ODIs leading up to the World Cup and the lack of having their best XI on the park at all times as one of the reasons for their poor show.

“You could argue that the lack of 50-over cricket and the lack of England’s ability to put what they consider to be their best one-day team in 50-over cricket has camouflaged some of the weaknesses and decline that we’ve seen,” Atherton said. “It’s all come together in the performances we’ve seen in Mumbai over the last couple of days and this one here in Bengaluru.”