CHAMPS TO CHUMPS

Trophy defence gets off to worst possible start as Buttler and Co are battered by clinical Kiwis

- DEAN WILSON

ENGLAND suffered a horror start to their World Cup defence with an opening defeat by New Zealand by the widest of margins.

Forget the raucous chaos of a full house at Lord's in 2019, sparked by Jos Buttler's sprawling gloves for a run out.

This time it was the Kiwis' turn to celebrate with as comprehensive a World Cup win as you will find.

The nine-wicket victory came with more than 13 overs to spare to put England on the back foot in this tournament right from the start.

No points, not to mention a poor net run-rate that will need some rescuing.

But before they can even think about permutations down the line, they must work out how they managed to be so far off the pace.

Skipper Buttler's call for his team to continue to push the attacking envelope appeared to fall largely on deaf ears with only Harry Brook committing to the approach - even though it cost him.