England have recorded a dubious record following their 69-run defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in a World Cup group match at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. England have become the first team to lose to all 11 Test-playing nations in the history of ICC ODI World Cup tournaments.
The genesis of the dubious defeats dates back half a century to 1975—the year England tasted their first World Cup defeat against Australia. Four years down the line, in 1979, England lost the World Cup final to West Indies. Then came the consecutive thrashings from the Asian giants India and Pakistan in 1983 and 1987 respectively. Meanwhile, New Zealand also registered their first World Cup win over England in 1983.
The year 1992 dealt another blow to England as little-known Zimbabwe handed over an unexpected cricketing lesson. Four years later, in 1996, Sri Lanka reiterated the vulnerability of the English team and the streak of bitter defeats continued for England as South Africa also brought them down in 1996. Fast forward to 2011, and the Asian minnows Bangladesh stole the limelight by clinching a historic victory against the English.
A defeat at the hands of the ‘boys in green’ from Ireland followed in the same edition (2011), adding another notch to England’s record of defeats. Then in 2023, the World Cup witnessed a new low for English cricket as they suffered defeat against a rising team and World Cup minnows, Afghanistan.
In the match, Afghanistan batted first, scoring a total of 284 runs, fueled by a powerful 80-run innings from opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and a half-century from Ikram Alikhil. In response, England struggled and were bowled out for 215 runs, with Harry Brook being the only batter who adapted well to the conditions, scoring a determined 66 runs. Spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan played a crucial role in Afghanistan’s victory by taking three wickets each.
