4. England, who hosted the 2019 World Cup, were reigning champions. How did they perform in the group stage of the 2023 World Cup?
From Quiz One Fine One-Day
Answer:
Missed the finals, but qualified for the 2025 Champions Trophy with 3 wins from 9 games
In 2015, they had been eliminated during the group stage of the competition, a performance that they more or less duplicated in 2023. This was surprising, as they had been highly successful in the leadup, finishing second to New Zealand in the Super League table.
It was India who finished on top, with 9 wins in 9 matches.
With the last round of the group stage still to play, England had clearly missed the knockout stage, with 2 wins in their first 8 games. There were four teams still trying to avoid a bottom-two finish - England, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh and the Netherlands - so the final round became tension-filled for their supporters. In the final round of matches, New Zealand beat Sri Lanka, South Africa beat Afghanistan, Australia beat Bangladesh, England beat Pakistan, and India beat the Netherlands. The two teams, therefore, who did not finish in the top eight and qualify directly for the 2025 Champions Trophy tournament were Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.