"Thankful there were not more viewers in the ground" - Michael Atherton bemoans England for shocking defeat in the 2023 World Cup opener

Former captain Michael Atherton was critical of England's lackluster performance in the opening game of the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5.

Tipped to be among the front-runners for the marquee event, the defending champions were outplayed in all departments by the Black Caps to suffer a nine-wicket hammering.

Despite fielding a depleted team without regular skipper Kane Williamson, veteran pacer Tim Southee, and speedster Lockie Ferguson, the Kiwis performed manfully with the ball to restrict England to a mediocre 282/9 in 50 overs.

In reply, classy opener Devon Conway and spin-bowling all-rounder Rachin Ravindra carted the English attack to all corners of the Narendra Modi Stadium to clinch victory in the 37th over.

In his piece for the Times, Atherton was sarcastically thankful that the stadium was only half-full to witness the shocker of a performance by England.

"England will have to show significant improvement very quickly after a rusty and drab performance brought defeat in a manner that has rarely befallen them in recent times. No barest of margins here, just a hammering. Jos Buttler's players were thankful, no doubt, that there were not more viewers in the ground to witness matters," said Atherton.

The duo of Conway and Ravindra added an unbeaten 273 off 211 deliveries, the fourth-highest partnership in World Cup history, in a mockery of a seemingly stiff target.

Playing in their first ODI World Cup game, both batters notched up their centuries in no time and finished on 152* and 123*, respectively.

With the massive win, New Zealand also avenged its heartbreaking defeat in the final of the 2019 World Cup and lived up to the reputation of causing unforeseen upsets.

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"They looked undercooked" - Eoin Morgan

Sam Curran was the lone wicket-taker for England in a shambolic bowling performance.

2019 World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan expressed disappointment at the lack of consistency from England bowlers in their crushing nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand.

Every England bowler traveled at over six runs per over, with express pacer Mark Wood receiving the harshest treatment, conceding 55 in his five over.

Despite bowling two maiden overs in the powerplay and picking up the lone wicket, Sam Curran went at almost eight runs to the over while his new-ball partner Chris Woakes went at an economy of 7.50 runs per over.

In a conversation with Sky Sports post-game, a disgruntled Morgan said:

"They were so far off the mark. With the ball, they looked undercooked. They bowled both sides of the wicket which is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. A really disappointing day."

England will have a few days off to reflect on their dismal performance before facing Bangladesh at Dharamsala on Tuesday, October 10. Meanwhile, a confident New Zealand outfit will take on the Netherlands in the next outing at Hyderabad on October 9.