Every day, the T20 World Cup 2022 provides fans with exciting action. Who can forget the match in which Ireland knocked out the two-time T20 World Cup “champions”, West Indies in the preliminary rounds itself. Ireland defeated England as well. However, this is not the first time England has lost against a lower-ranked team. Here are four incidents in which a lower-ranked nation defeated England in a cricket World Cup match.
1. England lost against Netherlands - T20 World Cup 2009
The first match of the 2009 T20 World Cup in England's backyard appeared to be a walk in the park, as they faced Netherlands in their first-ever T20 World Cup game. Experts and fans saw no chance of the Netherlands pulling off an upset against Paul Collingwood's England, and when the hosts posted 162 runs batting first, any chance of a Netherland seemed very unlikely. However, Tom de Grooth's 49-ball knock, combined with a cameo from Ryan Ten Doeschate, propelled the Netherlands over the finish line on the final delivery of the match.
2. England lost against Ireland - ODI World Cup 2011
When two neighbours faced off in the 2011 ODI World Cup, many believed that England had effectively eliminated the Irish team from the match after winning the toss and scoring a huge total of 327 runs. However, Kevin O'Brien had other plans as he smashed a brilliant century and scored 113 runs in only 63 deliveries. With five balls remaining, Ireland defeated England thanks in large part to contributions from Alex Cusack and John Mooney.
3. England lost against Netherlands - T20 World Cup
The Netherlands delivered a similar performance five years after securing a memorable victory over England, and if anything, it was more forceful this time around. The Netherlands had defeated England in 2009 with the game's final ball, but in 2014, their bowlers put on a show and bowled them out for just 88 runs. Mudassar Bukhari and Logan van Beek each took three wickets to upset England in a World Cup match while defending 133 runs.
4. England lost against Ireland - T20 World Cup 2022
Ireland and England faced off in a World Cup match of the shortest format of the game in Melbourne, 11 years after Ireland upset England in the ODI World Cup. Ireland defeated England by five runs in a match that was interrupted frequently by rain at the MCG. England was five runs behind the required total when the match started.
These are the times when England suffered a world cup heartbreak against lower-ranked countries.