DOWN & ROUT

England are humiliated by Afghanistan as World Cup defence is left in tatters

- DEAN WILSON

ENGLAND'S World Cup title defence is hanging by a thread after defeat against Afghanistan for the first time ever.

A flat performance riddled with errors against a side that had only ever beaten Scotland before in a World Cup was a reminder of the bad old days of English ineptitude at the global showpiece.

And this defeat by 69 runs will sit very comfortably alongside the 2015 loss to Bangladesh, or the 2011 humbling by Ireland when England were always good value for an upset. Those days had largely been put to bed over the past eight years as they grew into the dominant white-ball force.

But after a mauling by New Zealand and this utter thrashing from Afghanistan, claims of a mere blip can be ignored with a reassessment of where they stand in this tournament now required.