What would you rank as the most humiliating World Cup defeat? Sure there have been a few shocks, but also some very heavily inflicted defeats.
Factor in the quality of opposition inflicting the defeat, the margin of defeat and any other factors that might have been relevant.
England vs Sri Lanka (2011 World Cup Quarter-Final)
England 229/6 (50.0 overs)
Sri Lanka 231/0 (39.3 overs)
As World Cup quarter-finals go, this was more of a bye than a contest. To struggle to 229 without being bowled out and then not even take a wicket is truly humiliating - especially with over 10 overs to spare. Sri Lanka did go on to reach the final, but this was one heavy defeat.
England vs Zimbabwe (1992 World Cup round robin group stage)
Zimbabwe 134 (46.1 overs)
England 125 (49.1 overs)
Don't mention chicken farmers! England collapsed from 32/1 to 43/5 and never truly recovered. Eddo Brandes took four of the first five wickets and even Fairbrother and Stewart couldn't rescue England. Zimbabwe were not really a minnow as such, but when you bowl a side out for under 150 you do expect to chase the total down with six batsmen, Botham and DeFreitas in the order.
England vs Ireland (2011 World Cup group stage)
England 327/8 (50.0 overs)
Ireland 329/7 (49.1 overs)
O'Brien gets a lot of credit, but England had Ireland 111/5 and should really have won from there with Ireland having only five middle-lower order wickets in hand and trying to sustain a run-rate of well over eight.
West Indies vs Kenya (1996 World Cup group stage)
Kenya 166 (49.3 overs)
West Indies 93 (35.2 overs)
This was Kenya's first World Cup, they did very well for a few World Cups but weren't given Test status so have faded. Kenya posted a modest total, West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals with only Chanderpaul and Harper making double figures - two run outs did not help their cause any.
Bangladesh vs India (2007 World Cup group stage)
India 191 (49.3 overs)
Bangladesh 192/5 (48.3 overs)
India posted a modest total, thanks largely to Ganguly's 66 and Yuvraj's 47. They must have fancied winning this, having lost to Bangladesh only once before and not since, but 50s from Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al-Hasan saw Bangladesh home quite comfortably - two late-ish stumpings off Sehwag to make it 163/4 and 175/5 making it look closer.
So there's a few contenders, any more? Who do you think has suffered the biggest humiliation. Just FYI, my choice is England vs Sri Lanka in the QF of the 2011 World Cup for the size of margin (maximum), ease of victory (10+ overs to spare) and significance of the fixture (Quarter-Final)
Factor in the quality of opposition inflicting the defeat, the margin of defeat and any other factors that might have been relevant.
England vs Sri Lanka (2011 World Cup Quarter-Final)
England 229/6 (50.0 overs)
Sri Lanka 231/0 (39.3 overs)
As World Cup quarter-finals go, this was more of a bye than a contest. To struggle to 229 without being bowled out and then not even take a wicket is truly humiliating - especially with over 10 overs to spare. Sri Lanka did go on to reach the final, but this was one heavy defeat.
England vs Zimbabwe (1992 World Cup round robin group stage)
Zimbabwe 134 (46.1 overs)
England 125 (49.1 overs)
Don't mention chicken farmers! England collapsed from 32/1 to 43/5 and never truly recovered. Eddo Brandes took four of the first five wickets and even Fairbrother and Stewart couldn't rescue England. Zimbabwe were not really a minnow as such, but when you bowl a side out for under 150 you do expect to chase the total down with six batsmen, Botham and DeFreitas in the order.
England vs Ireland (2011 World Cup group stage)
England 327/8 (50.0 overs)
Ireland 329/7 (49.1 overs)
O'Brien gets a lot of credit, but England had Ireland 111/5 and should really have won from there with Ireland having only five middle-lower order wickets in hand and trying to sustain a run-rate of well over eight.
West Indies vs Kenya (1996 World Cup group stage)
Kenya 166 (49.3 overs)
West Indies 93 (35.2 overs)
This was Kenya's first World Cup, they did very well for a few World Cups but weren't given Test status so have faded. Kenya posted a modest total, West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals with only Chanderpaul and Harper making double figures - two run outs did not help their cause any.
Bangladesh vs India (2007 World Cup group stage)
India 191 (49.3 overs)
Bangladesh 192/5 (48.3 overs)
India posted a modest total, thanks largely to Ganguly's 66 and Yuvraj's 47. They must have fancied winning this, having lost to Bangladesh only once before and not since, but 50s from Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al-Hasan saw Bangladesh home quite comfortably - two late-ish stumpings off Sehwag to make it 163/4 and 175/5 making it look closer.
So there's a few contenders, any more? Who do you think has suffered the biggest humiliation. Just FYI, my choice is England vs Sri Lanka in the QF of the 2011 World Cup for the size of margin (maximum), ease of victory (10+ overs to spare) and significance of the fixture (Quarter-Final)