Review: A World Cup that England would want to forget quickly

England came in to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with high hopes. The side had been revamped under Eoin Morgan, they reached the final of the tri-series played in Australia just ahead of the World Cup. The players had played sufficient ODI cricket over the last six months and were focussed on giving it their best shot. However it all came a cropper when the stakes got higher. After crushing defeats againt Australia and New Zealand in their first two outings, England still had a chance to make it to the knockouts.But they failed to win against any of the Test playing nations in their group and were eventually knocked out by Bangladesh. England were never title favourites but were definitely top contenders for a spot in the quarterfinals. Playing a brand of cricket that seemed outdated, England had only themselves to blame for their sorry campaign.

Record in the World Cup:Played 6, Won 2, Lost 4

High point

You will be clutching at straws to find a high point for England in the World Cup. Steven Finn's hat-trick in the first game, a century apiece for Joe Root and Moeen Ali, James Taylor's spunk with the bat were all individual moments to cherish but none of it really helped the bigger cause.

Low point

It has to be the loss to Bangladesh in what was a must-win game. Having conceded 275 and a century to Mahmudullah, England were still expected to chase it down but fell short by 15 runs. Ian Bell threw away yet another start while the middle order buckled under pressure. With 16 needed off the last two overs, Broad and Anderson fell in the space of three balls to Rubel Hossain and that signaled the end of England's campaign.

Captaincy verdict

The less said about Eoin Morgan's captaincy, the better. The skipper averaged 18 with the bat setting a bad example. He was unable to inspire a team that was going down fast. The alarming ease with which Sri Lanka chased down a target of 309 showed that Morgan was running out of ideas pretty quickly. Hindsight will teach England not to shake things up too much ahead of a big tournament. Eoin Morgan seemed a leader who had bitten more than he could chew.

Most valuable player

There is not one player who delivered a standout performance in any of the big games. With 262 runs at an average of 52.4 in six innings put Ian Bell topped the batting charts for England. In fact, only Bell and Joe Root (202 at 40.4) scored over 200 runs in the World Cup, summing up England's tournament. But what those stats fail to reveal is that despite getting starts, Bell failed to turn them into big scores. A top score of 63 hardly augurs well for a top-order batsman in a big tournament.

Major disappointment

The batting department had moments of brilliance and substance but the biggest let-down was the bowling. James Anderson and Stuart Broad were expected to be the spearheads but the duo combined to pick only nine wickets in six games and conceded at over five runs per over. Anderson picked up just the five wickets, conceding at 5.32 while Broad conceded at 5.36 for his four scalps. The lack of wickets at the top of the innings meant that the change bowlers had to bowl largely at well set batsmen, reducing their effectiveness.

Verdict

It was a case of another World Cup, another disappointment for the England fans. Following their run to the final of the 1992 World Cup, they have had six editions of sub-standard performance. They were the only members of the so-called 'Top 8' teams that failed to make it to the knockout stages sparking serious questions about England's attitude towards limited overs cricket. The captaincy situation notwithstanding, England's displays at in Australia - New Zealand bordered on the mediocre. The honchos at the ECB would do well to not relying overly on 'data' and instead promote a culture that allows players to express themselves on the grandest stages.