England collapse to 156 all out against Sri Lanka
England's cricketers have been slammed on social media by supporters after another abysmal showing with the bat against Sri Lanka at the Cricket World Cup.
Playing in their fifth game in the tournament, Jos Buttler's men entered the match knowing they needed a win after losing three of their previous four games.
But, after dire batting displays against Afghanistan and South Africa, England collapsed once more in Bangalore as they were bowled out for 156.
Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan had got the defending champions off to a solid start as they put on 45 for the first wicket, but when the latter edged behind, England fell apart.
Joe Root was run out after a mix-up in the middle, Bairstow tamely chipped to mid-on, before Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes also came and went having hardly troubled the scorers.
Ben Stokes put up some resistance with a gritty 43, but he was then caught in the deep, with Adil Rashid then getting run out at the non-striker's end shortly afterwards following a major lapse in concentration to leave England 147 for nine.
David Willey and Mark Wood took England beyond 150, but the latter was stumped after charging down the wicket to end the side's misery with the bat.
England's World Cup hopes are now hanging by the slimmest of threads, and fans have been left bitterly disappointed by the performances the team have mustered up in India.
'England cricket are bloody awful,' one fan posted on X, summing up the feelings of supporters around the country.
Another fan suggested England were looking to finish the tournament early, although they will have no such luck as they still have four games left to play after today.
'Are England trying to get an earlier flight home or something? This is awful...' they wrote.
Another fan simply couldn't believe what they were watching, and hit out at Livingstone after he unsuccessfully reviewed an lbw call against him.
'Utterly embarrassing cricket from England, and what an awful review from Livingstone. What the hell are they doing?' they asked.
England enjoyed the most successful period in their one-day history between 2015 and 2019, as Eoin Morgan's men took the game to the opposition, culminating in a World Cup win at Lord's four years ago.
Many of that team have stayed together since, but one fan claimed England have now reached the 'end of an era'.
'England are awful, end of an era. Changes need to be made, everyone is off form really,' they added.
Former Test captain Root recently suggested England should prioritise playing more one-day cricket domestically by getting rid of the T20 Blast.
One supporter had a different idea, as they called for drastic changes to get the country's 50-over cricket back on track.
'@ECB_cricket quite possibly the worst England side I have known in my adult life. Please ditch the hundred and make 50 over cricket a priority. These performances are awful and embarrassing,' they stated.
Source: Daily Mail
