Since the beginning of The Cricket World Cup which began in May, England have had three significant encounters so far in the new and re-vamped round-robin format. Their very first match at the end of May saw them beat South Africa by 104 runs. However, they were then stunned in a surprising defeat to Pakistan, losing by 14 runs in a thrilling affair at Trent Bridge.
Can they still do it?
After the surprising defeat at the hands of a poor fielding performance, England got back on track with a comfortable victory against Bangladesh. Their current group stage performances have left them 2nd in the table to New Zealand, trailing by two points.
Although the defeat came as a surprise to Eoin Morgan’s men. Former England spinner Graeme Swann believes the defeat came at the perfect time, acting as a ‘wake-up call’ and ‘kick up the backside’ to use as a positive for future performances within the tournament.
It seems the team are back on course to reach the final cut, hoping they don’t create any further uncertainty over their progression to the knockout stage.
They next match up against the West Indies where they hope to strengthen their fielding efforts, whilst replicating the success of Jason Roy’s batting performance against Bangladesh.
Will England have enough to beat them in what is shaping up to be a tough test?
Only time will tell…