England's abject showing in the World Cup in India is not only the worst title defence in the history of the game, it is also threatening to affect the team's next major assignment.
Following their 100-run thrashing by India in Lucknow, Jos Buttler's team are at the foot of the points table in 10th position with five defeats in six games, each one more emphatic than the last.
While their World Cup is all but over, England's worries are not. During the match against India, it was reported that the final standings during the ongoing World Cup will decide which teams qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan.
The International Cricket Council confirmed that the top eight teams, including hosts Pakistan, will make the cut for the prestigious Champions Trophy. However, England, and reportedly some other teams, were not fully aware of what was at stake.
England captain Buttler said he knew about the scenario and said he wants the team to give their best in the remaining group matches to make the cut for the 2025 tournament.
"Very disappointing," Butter said after the defeat at the Ekana Stadium on Sunday.
"At the halfway stage chasing 230, we fancied ourselves. But it's the same old story."
England face Australia, the Netherlands and Pakistan in their remaining matches, with the cut for Champions Trophy their only target.
"Yeah, we are aware of that and absolutely, we've still got lots to play for," Buttler said.
However, head coach Matthew Mott said he was not aware the qualification process had moved away from its previous link to world rankings.
Apparently, large-scale personnel changes in the England board possibly played a part in information about the new qualification system, which was ratified in 2021, not being adequately disseminated.
Asked in his post-match press conference on Sunday when he learnt about the potential Champions Trophy issue, Mott said: "About an hour and a half ago.
"The ICC do change the rules quite a bit with qualification. But to be honest I don't think it would affect in any way the way we've played in this tournament, so it's not a big deal.
"It's plenty of motivation for us to pick ourselves back up off the canvas and keep trying to throw punches. It gives us a lot of focus that we need to make sure we can't just 'turn up'. We've got to win these games."
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4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
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England
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
