🔗 Share this article Ashes series Disaster and Review: Was Meant to Change Everything. Did It Succeed? The England team was eliminated from the World Cup after losing a match they were heavily favored in, due to a surprise performance which nobody saw coming. Sound familiar? That’s because it describes two events involving England which occurred almost exactly a year separated: recently, their ODI World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of South Africa; a year ago, their defeat in a crucial group stage match against West Indies in the 20-over version. What Happened Next During that time, there was a whitewash in the Ashes and a post-series review which was meant to change everything. Was it successful? Time to delve a little more deeply into those two World Cup exits. In 2024, England collapsed, dropped five catches, and allowed a aggressive batting display from Qiana Joseph to win the day. In the latest match, a player with beautiful technique and temperament – the South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt – showed why she is among the elite in cricket. She gave precisely one chance – a catch to Alice Capsey at long-on – and England held on to it. Unfortunately, she had accumulated 169 runs by that point. ‘It’s painful’: Edwards looks to next generation after England’s World Cup drubbing. This may not offer the England head coach, Charlotte Edwards, much comfort as she flies home from her first World Cup in charge – she is a performance-focused leader, and a loss is a loss. But she has already made a difference. From the doldrums of multiple fielding errors in a single day of Test cricket in Melbourne, six months later England held on to more chances this World Cup than any other team. That is something. England’s Innings Struggles The problem was what came after Wolvaardt’s knock. Did anyone inside that England dressing room truly confident they were capable of chasing down a total of more than 300? Certainly no one outside it did. England’s rapid decline to 0/2 and 1/3 sparked a reaction not of horror but of weary inevitability. “We do need to improve our batting – I don’t think it’s been consistent enough at times,” Edwards said after the match. Therein lies the concern. There have been multiple totals of more than 300 in this tournament: a portion were hit by Australia, three by India, and two by South Africa. This is now standard in women’s ODI cricket: in order to rival the world’s best, England need a batting order which can realistically aim to exceed that milestone. But when only Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight has a history of regularly making meaningful runs, well, the numbers speak for themselves. Collaborative Innings Capsey’s 105-run partnership with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final had some value – Capsey showed that she can play responsibly, at least for 70 balls – but it was never going to be enough to win the game. In comparison with South Africa, who were able to add 117 runs from their last 10 overs, exceeding the magic 300, because Wolvaardt had faith in the batters coming in below her and felt she had enough freedom to hit out. “Aware of our resources in the sheds with the last 10 coming up, I thought I’d better have a swing,” she explained to Sky Sports. Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the sole consistent performers to score runs consistently during the tournament. Managerial Decisions When Edwards was appointed in April, her dilemma was whether to stick or twist: she opted to give an veteran team who had struggled previously one last shot at World Cup glory. She got it wrong. England return home with the worst of both worlds: empty-handed, and with little basis on which to restructure over the next four years. The majority of the top order from the semi-final are unlikely to play in another 50-over World Cup. A new strategy is now approaching, as Edwards herself signalled. “This is the conclusion of a phase,” she said. “We’ve got to look at the future now.” Future Prospects Better late than never: an opportunity to evaluate at the young left-hander Grace Scrivens, the young wicketkeeper Seren Smale and the teenage spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman. The nagging worry is that it might be overdue: England’s most recent set of central contracts were signed, sealed and delivered on 1 October. The governing body has not yet released a full list of contracted players, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the current World Cup squad are the main beneficiaries. The Path Ahead Stagnation and complacency were the dual enemies on which the Ashes whitewash was built – time for Edwards to demonstrate that she is serious about preventing their return.