India vs England, World Cup 2023: British Media Reaction - Terms 100-Run Defeat 'Farcical', 'Embarrassing'

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British media showed no respite in criticising the England cricket team for a shambolic show against India in a 100-run defeat at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. England are now staring at an early exit from the ICC World Cup 2023 with five losses in six games.

England, who were all out for a paltry 129 while chasing 230 runs on a two-paced surface, have now slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat at the ICC World Cup 2023 for the first time. BBC credited England for at least bowling well to restrict India on a par total but felt a "once a great" side are all but out of confidence.

"Unlike their previous defeats, England played well for more than half of this game, but those losses have sapped all of the confidence of a once great batting line-up," wrote BBCI.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph termed England's defense for the title farcical as England batters became bunny of Indian pacers Mohammed Shami (4/22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/32). Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Ben Stokes all cut a sorry figure as England lost their top-order batters for just 51 runs.

The Telegraph further wrote: "Despite a rocky history in one-day cricket the defending champions of 2019 have plumbed new depths over the last four weeks, racking up their most losses at a single tournament and an unprecedented sequence of four-in-a-row."

"Liam Livingstone top-scored with 27 in a sorry-looking scorecard for England, but that should take nothing away from India who were exceptional," wrote The Independent.

Joe Root was out for a first-ball duck while Ben Stokes (0) was treated as his bunny Mohammed Shami as the Test skipper just couldn't figure out the length at which Shami was coming at him. Sky Sports felt that England hit a crushing new low with the defeat and now need a miracle to reach the semifinal.

"England's abysmal Cricket World Cup hit a crushing new low as they crumbled to a 100-run defeat to unbeaten tournament favourites India that leaves them needing a miracle to reach the knockout stage," wrote the Sky Sports.

Priotr to the defeat in Lucknow, England were also humbled by Sri Lanka in a bottom-half-of-the-table clash and the overall show has now put them at the bottom of the table with just points. This also means the defending champions "embarrasingly" may miss out on ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, pointed out The Mirror.

"It would be incredibly embarrassing for the double 50 over and T20 World Champions to be missing from the tournament for the very first time, and will perhaps provide the extra motivation required for them to improve their performance," wrote The Mirror.