By Edmund J. Rogers 
England’s surprise defeat against Afghanistan should be a red flag for the reigning Champions, who were simply outplayed by their rivals.
This is England’s second defeat in the three matches played in this Cricket World Cup, after a heavy defeat in the opening match against New Zealand, which finally got revenge for reaching the 2019 World Cup final.
But this defeat felt different. As Michael Atherton of Sky Sports pointed out in a commentary, England’s defeat was inflicted by a team that has significantly less resources and funds than they do.
It was a flat pitch with good conditions for batting, which allowed Afghanistan to make 284 pitches after Jos Buttler took him to the batting position.
Before that, Afghanistan had won only one match in the World Cup, against Scotland in Christchurch 2015, and this time the current Champions suffered.
“It’s a difficult defeat, but I congratulate Afghanistan. They outplayed us today,” England captain Jos Buttler said.
“With the bat and the ball throughout the game, we weren’t at the level we wanted to be. We have to be better. You have to find ways to prove yourself and show your skills. We weren’t good enough and it was really disappointing.”
“You have to take these defeats for granted. There is no point trying to move on too quickly, although you should do it as quickly as possible.
“We’ll let that hurt us and then we’ll think about what needs to be done better. We have to show real resilience. We have character. We have been through a lot of good and difficult moments, so we will come back with the action.”
How is the English national team progressing after the defeat in Afghanistan?
Former England men’s national team performance director Mo Bobath, Nick Knight and Zach Crowley discussed what went wrong with the England national team and how they can improve their results ahead of the match against South Africa
Three players of the England national team, Bairstow (two), Buttler (nine), Wax (nine), could not score double-digit numbers, and just when they seemed to establish a partnership, the skillful players of the Afghan national team dismissed them.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said winning would give his team confidence, but now is not the time to panic about England.
“England lost two games at the 2019 World Cup and we all know how it ended.
“I think this is a matter of England starting slowly, they came up against a strong New Zealand team and got a convincing win over Bangladesh.
“The pitches will be crucial to make good decisions. We were also going to bowl first yesterday, and since the dew falls here in India at this time of the year, that plays a very important role.
“It’s going to be really interesting cricket, and so far it’s been at its highest level.”
The spectators at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi were excited not only by the wickets but also by the elimination style when the four England players were eliminated.
“Afghanistan outplayed England. You can’t say they won in a desperate action that satisfied their players. It was the biggest night in the history of Afghanistan and they won honestly,” Atherton said.