England slumped to one of their lowest one-day international totals when India bowled them out for just 110 at the Oval on Tuesday.
Put in by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, they lasted only 25.2 overs to record their joint-11th worst score in the 50-over game and sixth lowest on home soil, and at one stage looked likely to fail to beat the 86 they managed against Australia in 2001 before the tail wagged briefly.
Here, The Cricket Paper looks at some of the darkest days in England’s history in the shorter format.
86 – Australia, Old Trafford, June 2001
After Australia skipper Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn had anchored a middle-order fightback to steer the tourists to 208 for seven in a day-night contest, England folded under the lights following opener Nick Knight’s departure for 12 with the score on 25. Only Knight, Marcus Trescothick, Owais Shah and Dominic Cork, who top-scored with 17, made it to double figures as Jason Gillespie took three for 20 and Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds claimed two wickets each to ease their side to victory by 125 runs in 32.4 overs under the Duckworth Lewis method.
88 – Sri Lanka, Dambulla, November 2003
Only Paul Collingwood, with 31, and Ashley Giles, 21, offered any resistance as England were humbled by Chaminda Vaas’ three for 15 and two wickets each for Dinusha Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara and Upul Chandana. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana knocked off the 89 required for a 10-wicket victory in just 13.5 overs with the minimum of fuss.
89 – New Zealand, Wellington, February 2002
Craig McMillan’s 69 provided the backbone of the Kiwis’ 244 for eight from their full allocation, but England’s response never got going. Trescothick, skipper Nasser Hussain, Knight, Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood and Shah were all back in the pavilion by the time the total had reached 40, and although Andrew Flintoff’s 26 briefly steadied the ship, three wickets apiece for Andre Adams and Nathan Astle helped to skittle England to a 155-run defeat in 37.2 overs.
93 – Australia, Headingley, June 1975
England’s hopes of a place in the final of cricket’s first World Cup went up in smoke as they were beaten by four wickets having managed to bat for a little more than 36 overs. Skipper Mike Denness’ 27 and an unbeaten 18 from Geoff Arnold were the only significant contributions and although Chris Old took three for 29 amid a concerted fightback with the ball, Doug Walters and Gary Gilmour saw the Australians home in just 28.4 overs.
94 – Australia, Melbourne, February 1979
Opener Mike Brearley made 46, but a batting line-up which included Geoffrey Boycott, Derek Randall, Graham Gooch, David Gower and Ian Botham folded around him in the face of a sustained bowling assault. Botham and Bob Willis reduced Australia to 54 for three but could not prevent their side from slipping to a six-wicket defeat in the fifth ODI with 147 balls to spare.
