Does the England cricket team lose faith in their own game? The below-par total against Sri Lanka in the Super 8 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 has raised the question.
Under the guidance of head coach Brendon McCullum, the English batters master a brand-new approach to attacking batting, which is famously known as “Bazball.” Against Sri Lanka today (February 22) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Balagolla, cricket fans were expecting to see a brilliant batting display by the Harry Brook-led team. Which didn’t happen in real life.
A malfunctioned batting order of England vs Sri Lanka in Super 8 of the T20 World Cup 2026
Did the England cricket team start to break down because of extra pressure on them? Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin raised the question through his social media post. The former spinner wrote the excerpt of the first innings of the match number 42 of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in only two sentences.
Went to bat first; experienced opener Phil Salt provided his team a solid start by scoring a half-century. The swashbuckling opener, who was not at his best during the group stage, scored 62 off 40 against Sri Lanka today. His innings was laced with six 4s and a couple of 6s. Apart from Phil Salt, there was no other batter who took a step forward to counter the Lankan bowling attack.
Phil Salt registered a half-century
Josh Buttler, Jacob Bethell, and Tom Banton—these three prominent batters went for a single-digit score each, while Harry Brook, Sam Curran, and Jamie Overton each failed to score the 20-run mark on an individual basis. After Salt, Will Jacks was the second-highest scorer in the match for England with only 21.
Why did the English batting lineup collapse? Ashwin believed the batting malfunction was because of their sudden change in batting approach. Instead of batting fearlessly, which is their original brand of cricket, Brook and his boys tried to be extra cautious, which did not work at all. In 20 overs, the Three Lions managed to score only 146 runs in exchange for 9 wickets.
Ashwin explained briefly why the English batting order made a fuss
“England refusing to play the brand of cricket they are capable of playing. It happens mostly when there is uncertainty around the group. #T20WorldCup,” Ravichandran Ashwin wrote on ‘X.’.
England refusing to play the brand of cricket they are capable of playing.
Happens mostly when there is uncertainty around the group.#T20WorldCup
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 22, 2026
For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage clinched 3 scalps, and Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka each got a brace.
Historically, in the T20 World Cups, the Three Lions have had the upper hand over Sri Lanka. From 2010 to 2026, before today’s Super 8 match, England claimed 5 matches in 7 games, while Sri Lanka got to win only on one occasion.
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