World Cup 2019: Analysing the predicament England find themselves in

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At the start of the World Cup, even the most pessimistic wouldn't have envisioned the impudence they faced at the hands of Australians on Tuesday. Started off as the unchallenged favourites, the situation is getting out of hand for the England team. England needs to win both their remaining matches to deter a fervent Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka from entering the semifinals.

Their descend started with the injury of Jason Roy. Roy was in scintillating form in the lead-up to the World Cup, his replacement James Vince has looked incongruous. The fact that all the three defeats synchronized with none of the openers scoring more than 50 ascertains the significance of the injury.

The poor form of captain Morgan and Jos Buttler too didn't help the cause. They were the mainstays for the England middle-order over the last four years. The redundant forbearance, shown in batting contrary to the attacking style they endorsed brought little efficacy.

Root and Stokes were the only shining lights in the batting unit but lacked the much-needed support from the rest. The bowling looked more promising. The likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid and Moen Ali fared well. Root and Stokes add variety.

Two of the heavyweights, India and New Zealand await England in their last two matches. Neither of the opponents will go soft as they intuit a chance to eliminate mighty England. Particularly the match against India is more important as a failure would hand their fate into other teams' vicinity. which will create an air of despondency among the team and fans.

As they gear up against India, anything less than a victory wouldn't do them good. At this stage the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah etc. would offer lesser headache than their own internal plight.

Too much transposition is ill-advised. Still, if Jason Roy couldn't recover, it is feasible to consider the in-form Root opening and bringing down Vince to no 3. This will benefit both England and Vince, who is struggling at the top. Even replacing Vince with Woakes at three is a plausible option. The same could bring Plunkett into the team, who could provide the much-needed wickets in the middle overs and can smack a few.

Buttler has already proved enough to not relegate him as a 20-over batsman. Unfortunately, an unwanted apprehension is persisting in sending Buttler up the order. He is best suited for the number four position and would send a message in rank with the team's reputation. At four, he can play with more freedom and less pressure. Stokes and Morgan could interchange their position according to the situation.

The most important thing for England is to bring back their disposition which yielded them much of their success in recent times.

What English limited-overs cricket achieved over the last four years is nothing short of a revolution. Their "Go Hard" attitude had brought the much-needed exhilaration into the format which began to fade amidst the T20 clamours. It will be most unfortunate if they fail to make it to the semifinals. But on a more optimistic note, there is no more befitting team to counter the enmesh than England. After all, the current team had made a habit of winning. It should be quotidian for them despite the enormity of the occasion.

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