Image Credit- Getty
In order to avoid the shame of not making the cut for
the upcoming world men’s 50-over event in 2025, England has come to Ahmedabad
with the knowledge that they need to win at least one of their next three
matches. It is one thing to not make it to the World Cup; it is quite another
to not make it to the Champions Trophy.
When the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed
on Sunday that a modification to the qualifying procedure had been approved in
November 2021—albeit with no public announcement—the England team was taken
aback. The top seven finishers of the World Cup will join Pakistan, the hosts,
with England finishing last after five losses in six games.
In the two years afterward, the European Central Bank
(ECB) has undergone a considerable institutional transformation, with a new
chief executive, chair, and managing director in place. However, in all
honesty, England’s management would not have given much thought to the
possibility of finishing outside the top eight following a seven-year stretch
of unparalleled white-ball dominance since 2015.
England’s next games are against Australia on
Saturday, followed by matches against the Netherlands and Pakistan on November
8 and 11, respectively. The Netherlands match in Pune appears to be a probable
match to determine qualification. The Netherlands will be eager to defeat
England again because they have a great record against them, having defeated
them in the World T20s in 2009 and 2014.
It is not lost on England’s players that they need to
finish this World Cup strongly – even if, with 11 out of 15 squad members aged
30-plus, many of them will not be involved in two years’ time. “People’s
jobs are being scrutinised and players’ careers are being scrutinised,”
Dawid Malan said on Tuesday. “We have a hell of a lot to play for in the
last three.
“The last thing you want – if the decision gets
made to move on from players – is that we haven’t done well enough to give
other players the opportunity in future to play in big tournaments. That’s what
you play the game for: you want to be in the Champions Trophy and the World
Cup, things like that.”