The ICC World Cup 2027 is a fair distance away, but for certain teams the clock for automatic qualification is ticking already. The 2019 champions, England aren’t really the favorites at the moment, to make the cut, given the kind of poor performances they are coming up with. On Thursday, Harry Brook’s England’s lost by five runs while chasing 331 against the Proteas, and that meant, they lost their first series in the format against the opposition since 1998.
England Lose ODI Series vs South Africa
Before the Lord’s match, South Africa had emerged victorious against the hosts by seven wickets, chasing only 132. So, as per the ICC World Cup 2027 qualification rules, hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe qualify without ado. Then it comes down to the best eight teams now on the basis of their ranking. Being a 14-team tournament, the rest of the teams will be decided through a qualifier.
As per the current ODI team rankings, England are in 8th slot, and if the trend continues, they could well miss out their chance. The others to miss out that automatic spot could be the West Indies and Bangladesh, given the way they have been playing. Focusing on England only, 2025 has been a tough year for them in the 50-over format.
World Cup 2027 Automatic Qualification at Stake
They were ousted from the Champions Trophy 2025 in the first round itself. In fact, since the 2023 World Cup, the team has won only seven matches, out of the 21 played. In the lead up to the World Cup, they will be up against some of the better sides in the world. They are slated to play New Zealand in ODIs in end of October, followed by Sri Lanka in November, then India in next July, followed by another series against Sri Lanka in September.
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