Defending Champions of the ODI World Cup, England has recently set a rather unwanted record in the tournament, marking a significant milestone in their history in the competition. During their unceremonious loss to Afghanistan in their World Cup match at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, October 15, England faced a 69-run defeat at the hands of the minnows.
This loss has cemented England's position as the first team to experience defeat against all 11 Test-playing nations in ICC ODI World Cup tournaments.
This trail of defeats began back in 1975 when England first tasted a World Cup defeat against Australia. Four years later, in 1979, they suffered another blow by losing the World Cup final to West Indies. Subsequent years brought more challenges as England faced consecutive losses to cricketing powerhouses India and Pakistan in 1983 and 1987, respectively. New Zealand also notched up their first World Cup victory over England in 1983.
The year 1992 was another tough one for England as they received an unexpected lesson from the relatively unknown Zimbabwe on the way to the final. In 1996, Sri Lanka further underscored England's vulnerability, and South Africa continued the trend by defeating them in the same edition of the tournament. Fast forward to 2011, and Bangladesh created history by securing a historic win against England.
The 2011 edition of the World Cup saw another blow for England as they suffered defeat at the hands of Ireland. And now, the year 2023 witnessed a new low for English cricket as they faced a defeat against a rising team and World Cup minnows in Afghanistan.
During the match against Afghanistan, England struggled to chase down a target of 285 runs, eventually being bowled out for 215 runs. Harry Brook was the standout performer for England, scoring a determined 66 runs. However, it was Afghanistan's spin trio of Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who played a pivotal role in their victory, taking eight of the England wickets.
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