From an ash hangover to subcontinental scars as England seeks to rewrite history

A subcontinental World Cup to cap an Ashes winter? History tells us that this does not end well for England. In 2014, a whitewash in Australia was followed by a group stage exit at the World T20 with a 45-run defeat to the Netherlands in Chattogram. In 2011, the 50-over squad – largely made up of Test regulars – were battered by Kevin O’Brien in Bengaluru before exiting with a 10-wicket loss in the quarter-final against Sri Lanka at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium. Vic Marks, writing for The Observer, wondered beforehand whether England “had anything left to give” after so many months on the road.

And so to the Premadasa again, 15 years later, this time without the goodwill of a recent series win in Australia. The first one-day international against Sri Lanka starts just two weeks after Alex Carey scored the winning series at the SCG, and opens the second half of the English winter, with three T20s to follow in Pallekele. They hope to end it on March 8, in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, or in Colombo when they take on Pakistan, such is the geopolitical mess underlying the upcoming tournament.

Unsurprisingly, the gap between the tours has been filled with discussions about how it all fell apart in Australia, questions about who goes and who stays, and Richard Gould, the CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, outlining that “our focus is on regaining the Ashes in 2027”. The English game’s unhealthy obsession with one series lives on.

Harry Brook’s own professionalism has been called into question after he clashed with a bouncer the night before an ODI against New Zealand on his first tour as England white-ball captain, a wild episode that makes him lucky to still be in the post. Brendon McCullum, meanwhile, faces murmurs that his job is under threat, while Rob Key, who brought in McCullum and then promoted him to head coach in all forms, is likely to remain in limbo. It’s hard to know who in this whole setup can speak with any real authority at this point, with Brook himself admitting he needs to regain the trust of his players.

A few wins might assuage the simmering fears for a moment, but England start this tour in their weakest form, one sidelined in the domestic cricket calendar, while the aura forged by Eoin Morgan’s side is long gone. The 3-0 defeat to New Zealand in October made it six of seven ODI series defeats since an embarrassing World Cup in 2023, excluding a Champions Trophy campaign a year ago in which they finished winless. McCullum, who started as white-ball coach last January, is yet to win an ODI away from home. They are eighth in the table, uncomfortably close to the spots that do not guarantee qualification for next year’s World Cup.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has won seven consecutive 50-over series at home in the last two years, including Australia and India. Wanindu Hasaranga’s effervescent wrist turn has made him the joint-leading wicket-taker in ODIs since early 2024. While their batting lineup features few legendary names, that doesn’t guarantee success; just ask England.

“We’ve got five, six, maybe seven batters who could play in almost any team in the world,” Brook said in New Zealand as he analyzed his side’s 50-over struggle. You can see where he’s coming from, as this is a team that hit the 400 twice at home last summer and still features members of the 2019 cohort. But it’s also a game capable of imploding during a toilet break and overly reliant on Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer (absent from this series while recovering from a side strain) when it comes to the ball.

The XI selected for the series opener is seriously out of balance. The presence of Sam Curran at No. 8 – he made a quick-fire, match-winning half-century in the Big Bash at No. 5 on Sunday – suggests England are sticking to their standard with the bat: let’s go difficult. Zak Crawley will open his first List-A game in more than two years, with the resumption of his Test partnership with Ben Duckett coming at a particularly strange time as the pair have built six single-digit positions in the Ashes. But hey, at least Mitchell Starc isn’t up to this.

Brook laid down his usual lines at a press conference on Wednesday, wanting his party to know “when to take the pressure and put the pressure back on,” a tired mantra that will be sorely tested in the coming days. Some confidence is desperately needed after the misery of the Ashes, but it won’t be easy.