ICC World Cup 2023 Qualification Scenarios: Here’s how England can still qualify for semi-final

England, the defending ICC ODI World Champions, are not having a very good outing in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament being played in India. Jos Buttler and his men have lost three of their first four matches in the league stages. And two of those losses can be termed as embarrassing.

They started by getting drubbed by New Zealand in the ICC World Cup 2023 opening match in Ahmedabad on October 5. Chasing 283 runs, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra hammered scintillating centuries as New Zealand won by 9 wickets in just 36.2 overs. 

England bounced back against Bangladesh in Dharamshala by defeating the Tigers by 137 runs. Dawid Malan scored a century and Joe Root made 82 runs. But then came the biggest upset of this World Cup thus far, as Afghanistan bamboozled England in Delhi by 69 runs. England batters had no answers to Afghan spinners while chasing 284 runs. 

But their worst and most humiliating loss came to South Africa as they hammered 399 in Mumbai and then had England 100/8. Eventually, England was bowled out for 170 and lost by 229 runs.

With only two points from 4 matches, England have a net run rate of -1.248 and are in 9^th position on the CWC 2023 points table.

Here is how England can still qualify for World Cup 2023 Semifinals

England know their chances of making it into the top four of the ICC World Cup 2023 and playing in the semi-finals are on the knife’s edge. However, the Jos Buttler-led side is still in contention for a top-four finish, barring they don’t lose even a single match more.

They can reach a maximum of 12 points now if they manage to win their remaining five matches. And 12 points may just prove to be enough to secure a third or fourth-place finish in the league table. However, one more loss here for England can prove extremely detrimental to their chances of reaching the semi-finals. 

As of now, five teams—India, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan—can achieve more than 12 points. However, England are still to face Australia, India and Pakistan in the World Cup. If they manage to defeat all three of these teams, they can prevent them from crossing the 12-point mark, which will help them stay alive in the competition as well.

England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands—have two points each from four matches, and the situation is the same for all. They are only alive in the race for the knockouts till they keep winning. But even a single loss will mean that they are knocked out of the tournament.