ENG vs BAN: Michael Atherton Slams England After Horror Show Against New Zealand

Former England captain Michael Atherton has slammed Jos Buttler & Co. after their dismal start in the 2023 World Cup. England began their title defense in a disastrous fashion as New Zealand thrashed them by nine wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5).

What promised to be a thrilling contest turned out to be a lopsided one. The defending champions were thoroughly outplayed by New Zealand. Right from the toss till the end of the game, nothing went England’s way as New Zealand completely dominated the proceedings with both bat and ball. Asked to bat first, England posted 282 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs.

They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reeling at 118 for 4 before a 70-run stand between Buttler and Joe Root steadied the ship. But Buttler’s dismissal derailed the innings once again and England failed to finish strongly.

In reply, New Zealand chased down the total in less than 37 overs by losing just 1 wicket. After Will Young was out for a duck, Devon Conway, and Rachin Ravindra shared a record-unbeaten partnership of 273 runs to take their team home. Conway remained unbeaten on 152 while Ravindra smashed 123 not out.

Michael Atherton slams England:

Following England’s dismal start in the World Cup, Michael Atherton did not mince his words and came down hard on the team. Writing for The Times, the former cricketer-turned-commentator called England’s performance ‘rusty and drab’ and opined that the reigning champions will have to show significant improvement.

“(England) will have to show significant improvement very quickly after a rusty and drab performance brought defeat in a manner that has rarely befallen them in recent times.

“No barest of margins here, just a hammering. Buttler’s players were thankful, no doubt, that there were not more viewers in the ground to witness matters,” wrote Michael Atherton.

England will be in action next on October 10 when they lock horns against Bangladesh in Dharamsala. On the other hand, New Zealand’s next game is on October 9 against the Netherlands in Hyderabad.