ODI World Cup 2023: How can England qualify for semi final despite winning just one game so far?

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is in its final stages as just 16 matches are remaining in the tournament. All the sides have played at least six games so far and the race to the semi-finals is still on as none of the teams have qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament yet.

The defending champions England are having a forgettable run in the cricketing extravaganza as they’ve just won just one out of their six matches and find themselves on the last spot on the points table with just two points to their name. The Jos Buttler-led side has their remaining three matches against Australia, Netherlands and Pakistan and need to win all of them to keep their chances of semi-final qualification intact.

If England manage to win all of their remaining games, they will finish with eight points. The Three Lions will also have to hammer their oppositions with a huge margin to improve their net run rate which is currently the worst among all the ten teams at -1.652.

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However, just wins alone won’t help England’s cause as they will also have to depend on a lot of other results as well. The defending champions will have to hope that Australia (vs England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) and New Zealand (vs South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), who’re both on eight points each, lose all of their remaining three games.

Furthermore, England also face threat from Afghanistan (6 points from 6 matches) and Sri Lanka (four points from six matches) who have a chance to finish on more than eight points, if they win all of their remaining matches. Hence, England can afford only one of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan to finish with ten points or more. In such a scenario, one of Sri Lanka or Afghanistan will qualify for the semi finals with 10 or 12 points while the fourth spot will be left vacant.

Eight Points with brilliant net run rate can aid England's cause

The remaining spot will be taken by the team that has the best net run rate among Australia, New Zealand, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka/Afghanistan and the Netherlands, who all have a chance to tie with eight points each if all results go in England’s favour.

Also Check: ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table

Hence, the defending champions have a long road ahead to qualify for the semis where they need a mix of stellar performances and fate to help them seal their spot in the top four. Cricket is a game of numerous possibilities and the ‘Three Lions’ would hope that the enigmatic way in which things turned in their favour during the 2019 final once again help them to have a good chance at their title defence.