England’s good run of results came to a staggering halt on Thursday when two heavy defeats left them relying on results elsewhere to give them a chance of qualifying for the World Championships.

A morning loss of 3-11 against Italy was followed by a 1-9 defeat from Sweden. With just one game left, against Germany who are in a qualifying position, the team must also rely on two other results going their way to gain a tie-breaker.

It would be a sad end to a gallant effort which only three weeks ago looked to be a non-starter when various issues meant that key players were not able to play.