The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is now past the halfway stage as it builds towards the final on November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: England’s title defence suffers another crushing

The light at the end of the tunnel was a train. England have spent the last four weeks travelling around India talking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the statement performance that has never arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa were bad, this might have been the worst of the

England have lost their spark and sense of enjoyment at the World Cup, and would rather go out of the tournament “with a bang” than with a whimper. That is the view of their vice-captain, Moeen Ali, who looks set to make his second appearance of the tournament against Sri Lanka in Bangalore on Thursday.

Big picture: Stragglers in desperate search for points So, how’s that whole “attacking champions” thing working out? Jos Buttler may always regret saying England wouldn’t be “trying to defend anything” out in India – a statement that appears to be coming true uncomfortably quickly – but they are not quite at the point of no

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is now past the halfway stage as it builds towards the final on November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: de Kock, Klaasen lead South Africa’s

Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director, has played down Ben Stokes‘ decision to turn down a three-year central contract with the ECB in favour of a one-year deal, saying: “By no means does it mean that Ben Stokes doesn’t want to play for England.” The ECB announced a list of 26 men who have signed

England hope that Brydon Carse can replicate Liam Plunkett’s success in the middle overs after drafting him into their World Cup squad as a replacement for the injured Reece Topley. Carse will arrive in Bangalore ahead of England’s match against Sri Lanka on Thursday, though is unlikely to be considered for selection having last played

England’s teamsheet encapsulated just how quickly their plans have been thrown out of the window. Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Chris Woakes all played in Ahmedabad on the opening night of the tournament; 16 days later, they found themselves relegated to the dugout. Matthew Mott had rejected the idea of “wholesale changes” in

England will try to identify “an X-factor player” as a replacement for Reece Topley, who has been formally ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after scans confirmed a fracture in his left index finger. Topley was struck while fielding a ball off his own bowling in England’s 229-run defeat to South Africa

Reece Topley‘s cruel misfortune with injury has struck once more with a suspected broken finger set to rule him out of the remainder of England’s World Cup campaign. But Jofra Archer will not be considered to replace him despite England now facing five must-win matches even to reach the tournament’s knock-out stages. Topley, who took

South Africa 399 for 7 (Klaasen 109, Hendricks 85, Jansen 75*, van der Dussen 60) beat England 170 (Wood 43*, Coetzee 3-35, Ngidi 2-26, Jansen 2-35) by 229 runs Heinrich Klaasen crumpled to his haunches in a dripping mess after every shot. In between whiles, he flayed England’s bowlers for a 61-ball century to set

Big picture Hello darkness, my old friend. I’m coming to talk with one of you again. But which one will it be? Will it be England, the reigning world champions across 50- and 20-overs, whose quest for a third global title in four years is in danger of dissolving in a bisque of self-doubt? Instead

Ben Stokes has declared himself fit for selection ahead of England’s World Cup fixture against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday, having missed their opening three matches with a left hip injury. Stokes came out of ODI retirement to make himself available for this World Cup but his injury has not enabled him to feature.

England have not become a bad team overnight and their players remain confident that they can win the World Cup, despite early defeats to New Zealand and Afghanistan. That was the message put forward on Wednesday by Jonny Bairstow, who also pushed back against criticism of the squad’s focus. With two points from their first

England’s players are desperate to win a second consecutive World Cup – so desperate that they have reverted to playing risk-averse cricket during their first three matches. That is the view of their coach Matthew Mott, who also hopes that his players will gain “perspective” from the arrival of their families in Mumbai this week.

Ben Stokes has encouraged his England team-mates to play more aggressively after their 69-run defeat to Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday night, and looks set to make his first appearance of the tournament against South Africa in Mumbai this weekend. Stokes has missed England’s first three games of the World Cup because of a hip

The ECB has announced a spin-heavy England Lions training squad for a winter training camp in the UAE next month. Ten players have been drafted into the second-tier set-up for the first time. With the England men’s Test side travelling to India for a five-match series in January, eight spinners have been selected for this

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Australia put World Cup campaign back on track Australia

England travelled to Mumbai on Monday, licking their wounds from a shock 69-run defeat to Afghanistan in Delhi, which leaves them needing not only to beat South Africa on Saturday night, but to deliver the sort of performance which can reinvigorate a dejected squad. Jos Buttler, England’s captain, addressed his players in the dressing room

Somerset have signed Jake Ball, the former England seamer, on a two-year contract after his release from Nottinghamshire at the end of the 2023 season. Ball, 32, departed Trent Bridge after a 15-year career in which he took more than 400 wickets for the county, as well as winning caps for England in all three

Afghanistan 284 (Gurbaz 80, Alikhil 58, Adil Rashid 3-42, Wood 2-50) beat England 215 (Brook 66, Malan 32, Rashid Khan 3-37, Mujeeb 3-51, Nabi 2-16) by 69 runs Afghanistan claimed the most famous scalp of their international history, and in the process provided the first big shock of the 2023 World Cup, by routing England’s

Jos Buttler says that England must “let this defeat hurt” after their faltering World Cup campaign hit another shocking setback with a 69-run loss to Afghanistan in Delhi. The result was set in motion by Afghanistan’s opener, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who made 80 from 57 balls, before their senior spinner Rashid Khan sealed the win with

Big Picture Much like gap year students, England left Dharamsala having found themselves, arriving in the sprawling metropolis of Delhi on Wednesday with a self-regard more in step with their white-ball dominance over the last eight years. Their “crisis” lasted all of five days. A nine-wicket battering at the hands of New Zealand led to

Joe Root has slipped back into the rhythms of ODI cricket during the last 10 days. A month ago, he finished a series against New Zealand with 39 runs in four innings but has started this tournament with scores of 77 and 82, becoming England’s leading World Cup run-scorer in the process. Root looked badly

Alastair Cook, England’s leading Test run-scorer and one of the foremost batters of his generation, has announced his retirement from the professional game. Speculation had swirled around the final rounds of this season’s LV= Insurance County Championship that Cook, 38, could be set to call time on his playing career. Essex played down the reports,

Chris Woakes made an inauspicious start to this World Cup. After leaking 45 runs in six wicketless overs against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, he had figures of 0 for 34 after four against Bangladesh in Dharamsala, conceding six early boundaries as Reece Topley got on a roll at the other end. No wonder Woakes looked

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Rohit and Bumrah headline fiery India display India 273

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113 complete record World Cup chase

England 364 for 9 (Malan 140, Root 82, Mahedi 4-71) beat Bangladesh 227 (Litton 76, Topley 4-43) by 137 runs Defending champions England produced an emphatic response to defeat in their opening World Cup match, crushing Bangladesh by 137 runs in Dharamsala to get their tournament up and running. A total of 364 for 9

Big picture – Familiar nemesis awaits faltering England Six matches down, 42 to come… it’s too soon to form any broad judgements about the destiny of the 2023 World Cup. However, as England’s chastened cricketers head for the tournament’s highest peak in Dharamsala, they do so with clear reason to doubt their readiness to scale