AHMEDABAD: Moeen Ali said England’s exit from the Cricket World Cup could be the end of an era for the 2019 champions, admitting they had “not been good enough” in India.

England’s sixth defeat in seven matches, a 33-run reverse against Austr­alia in Ahmedabad on Satur­day, ended their semi-final hopes and left them bottom of the 10-team standings.

Jos Buttler’s struggling team started their title defence with a defeat to New Zealand at the same venue and although they then beat Bangladesh it proved to be their sole victory so far in a disastrous campaign.

A majority of the squad are in their 30s and unlikely to play in the next edition in 2027 as England look to rebuild.

Asked if it was the end of a great 50-over team, the 36-year-old all-rounder Moeen responded: “Yeah, maybe.” England, captained by Buttler and coached by Matthew Mott, started as one of the tournament favourites but they flopped spectacularly, with multiple batting collapses.

They folded for 156 against Sri Lanka, 129 against hosts India, 215 in a mighty upset by Afghanistan, and fell short again chasing Australia’s 286.

“It’s just lack of confidence, especially in the batting department,” said Moeen.

“The lack of runs, especially in a part of the world, where in India it can be nice to bat but it can be difficult, it’s probably a different approach, but we haven’t been good enough.”

The Chris Woakes-led attack restricted Australia to 286 and kept India’s powerful batting line-up down to 229-9 in their previous match, but England’s batsmen failed to capitalise each time.

“The bowling has got better over the last two games in particular,” said Moeen.

“But no positives really, we are bottom of the table with two points in a World Cup in which we expected to do better.”

Moeen tried to look to the future, recalling the 2015 World Cup debacle when Bangladesh knocked out Eoin Morgan’s England.

They rebuilt to win their maiden 50-over World Cup at home four years ago and then triumphed in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.

“I look at it as an exciting time going forward because there are so many good players, we know they are coming,” Moeen said.

“Anything could happen there are still another four years before the next World Cup.

“Like 2015, we were terrible in the World Cup and we started again, almost started fresh and it can be exciting going forward.”

Many of England’s current stars including Buttler (33), Ben Stokes (32) Dawid Malan (36) and Joe Root (32) are unlikely to feature in the 2027 edition to be hosted jointly by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Buttler, meanwhile, said he continues to believe in his team or himself.

Buttler’s own form with the bat has been emblematic of his team’s struggles in the tournament. The white-ball stalwart could not manage a single half-century so far in the tournament, while their star-studded batting lineup managed a 200-plus total only once in their last four outings.

“I wouldn’t say the belief is shaken, more just the frustration grows and adds,” Buttler told reporters.

“These are top quality players. I speak about myself more. I think the belief in my game is as high as it’s ever been really, which is why there’s so much frustration.

“Coming into the tournament I felt in fantastic form, as good a form as I’ve been in. So, to be sat here having had the tournament I’ve had is incredibly frustrating, but it doesn’t shake your belief.”

Buttler dismissed the suggestion that the burden of captaincy might be affecting his batting, though he did not spare himself in his frank assessment of their campaign in India.

“No, I wouldn’t say the captaincy. It’s something I’ve enjoyed — that responsibility — in T20 cricket and ODI cricket before this tournament.

“I felt like it’s brought out a lot of really good things in my batting. So, it’s been frustrating... I can’t quite put a finger on why I’m not playing to the level I expected [of] myself.”

England, who face the Netherlands and Pakistan in their remaining matches, are now fighting for a top-eight finish to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023