England open their white-ball home season against Australia on Wednesday with Eoin Morgan’s side looking to bounce back from Sunday’s six-run loss to Associate nation Scotland in Edinburgh.
It’s not the first time that England have been beaten by teams that have been ranked below them.
Here, we look at some of their embarrassing defeats in limited-overs format.
WORLD TWENTY20, 2009
LOST TO NETHERLANDS BY FOUR WICKETS
England went into the tournament as huge favourites to get their World Twenty20 campaign off to a winning start when they faced Associate side Netherlands in London. But, obviously, the Dutch never read the script and stunned the hosts in their own backyard with a memorable four-wicket triumph at the Home of Cricket – Lord’s. Set a target of 163 after Luke Wright had scored 71, Tom De Grooth’s vital 49 saw them home off the final ball. To make matters worse, Stuart Broad had the chance to wrap up the win but missed a stumping chance.
2011 WORLD CUP
LOST TO IRELAND BY THREE WICKETS
Batting first, England put Ireland under of pressure when they amassed 327 at Bangalore thanks to Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81). And when the Irish were 106-4 with 27 overs to play, it seemed there was always going to be one winner. But what happened next will go down as one of cricket’s greatest shocks.
Kevin O’Brien let the batting do the talking in style, smashing 113 runs off 63 balls to rattle the England bowlers and complete an unlikely victory in the 49th over.
What a knock: Kevin O’Brien.
WORLD TWENTY20, 2014
LOST TO NETHERLANDS BY 45 RUNS
Lightning struck twice on England as the Dutch proved their 2009 triumph was no fluke. Nothing was riding on the match given both sides were unable to advance but the men in orange rose to the occasion. Chasing 134, England had a horrendous time with the bat as they were all out for a paltry 88. Only four boundaries were scored with Ravi Bopara’s 18 the top-score. Interim coach Ashley Giles summed it up by saying: “Today was pretty embarrassing; it was a poor, poor performance.”
Celebration time: Netherlands.
2015 WORLD CUP
LOST TO BANGLADESH BY 15 RUNS
Eoin Morgan’s side knew exactly what was needed if they wanted to advance to the knockouts and that was to win. Against Bangladesh, England were already up against it when they conceded 275 with Mahmudullah scoring a century. And while Jos Buttler hit a 52-run knock, the batsmen had no answer to Rubel Hossain, who claimed 4-53. It was the third time in five World Cups that England exited the tournament in the group stage, while for the Tigers they advanced past the first round for only the second occasion.
Century hero: Mahmudullah.
