The logo for this World Cup features nine square symbols, each intended to represent – quite how is not always obvious – a word with which the tournament may be associated. It is mostly a pretty banal list: joy, respect, power, pride, bravery, glory, wonder, passion. But there is one that stands out, completely unexpected in this company but absolutely deserving of its place: anguish.
As England’s players and staff gathered around the large, boardroom-style table next to their dressing room after the 69-run defeat to Afghanistan on Sunday, it did not take a body language expert to work out which of the nine best represented them. There were no flying teacups, nor for that matter movement of any kind, just slumped shoulders and thousand-yard stares.
