England Assistant Coach On World Cup Qualification Hopes: ‘Need To Climb Those Rankings’ | Cricket News

Last Updated:September 06, 2025, 19:53 IST

Marcus Trescothick urges England to climb ICC rankings after losses to South Africa drop them to eighth, threatening 2027 World Cup qualification.

England risk missing out on 2027 World Cup qualification (AP)

Marcus Trescothick acknowledges that England’s struggling one-day international team must “climb those rankings” to secure their place at the 2027 World Cup.

Successive losses to South Africa have left England 2-0 down in a three-match series ahead of Sunday’s finale in Southampton. These defeats have dropped them to eighth in the International Cricket Council standings for 50-over cricket.

Can England Qualify For 2027 World Cup?

This marks a significant decline for an England side that was world champion as recently as 2019. It raises challenging questions about their automatic place in the next edition of the global tournament.

Co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe are already guaranteed spots, with the next eight places determined by the ICC rankings.

England still have time to distance themselves from Bangladesh and the West Indies, but assistant coach Trescothick admits the downturn must end.

“If you look solely in terms of making sure we qualify for the World Cup, that is the situation we find ourselves in at the moment,” Trescothick told reporters on Saturday.

“We’re in an interesting position where we need to climb those rankings. Longer term there’s also a bigger picture and we need to look at being at the top of those rankings and beyond. We want to go and compete in the biggest competitions like we did in 2019.”

The former England opening batsman added, “No doubt it’s been a challenging period and a sustained amount of time where you’re trying to adapt and get back to the formula we want.”

“The journey hasn’t been easy, of course not, but I definitely feel we’re improving and moving in the right direction even though the last two results have been disappointing.”

England have made just one change for Sunday’s match, with Jamie Overton replacing fellow paceman Saqib Mahmood. Overton recently announced he was stepping away from longer-form red-ball cricket.

This leaves the balance of the side unchanged, with part-time spinners Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell set for another bowling stint after conceding 112 runs in 10 overs during a five-run loss to South Africa at Lord’s on Thursday.

Opening batsman Ben Duckett retains his place despite being weary and out of form, leading to his withdrawal from next week’s T20 series against South Africa. He has one more innings to find some rhythm before a much-needed rest ahead of the Ashes tour of Australia in November.

“We need certain players to be firing and Ben is certainly one of those,” said Trescothick.

“At this point in time, this (break) is the best way to maximise performances going forward as we head into a big winter.

“We need the boys firing going into November, December, January. That’s not to say things aren’t important coming up but sometimes you just have to take your foot off the gas a bit and rejuvenate the mind. Then you can get back on the horse and crack on.”

(With inputs from AFP)

Ritayan Basu

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin…Read More

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin… Read More

Read More