For a little under three hours that the England innings lasted against Sri Lanka, it seemed like the fans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium were forced to read a bad novel in a single sitting.
None of the batters bothered to engage the audience. There was no attempt to build a narrative and no clarity of thought. It felt like going through antique, clunky prose.
It was no surprise that Jos Buttler’s men crashed to a eight-wicket loss on Thursday in what was a must-win World Cup match. England’s title defence now lies in tatters, with near-zero possibility of it making the semifinals.
