England end wretched World Cup on high note with win over Pakistan

A contest with precious little riding on it? For a good while it felt anything but at Eden Gardens, such was the crackling electricity of this famous old ground as England signed off from their lamentable World Cup defence with a comfortable 93-run win over Pakistan.

Granted, any hope of Pakistan conjuring up the landslide 287-run (or more) scoreline they needed to sneak into the semi-finals via net run-rate dissolved with the toss of a coin; for the seventh successive time Jos Buttler was afforded the choice and, by opting to bat first, his opponents saw that Rizla-thin chance replaced by something closer to impossibility.

But until the result became obvious, a 37,000-strong crowd positively itching to start the Diwali celebrations whipped up the atmosphere of a truly live contest – a far cry from England’s opening fixture against New Zealand in Ahmedabad when, remarkably given his god-like status, Sachin Tendulkar walked out into a near-empty Indian cricket ground.

Tendulkar was holding the trophy on the day that England’s hopes of retaining it suffered a blow from which they never truly recovered. Instead, six weeks on, they fly home before the semi-finals albeit with a smidgeon of pride restored. Buttler’s men know an overhaul is coming but they at least ensured it wasn’t ushered in with a seventh defeat.

This came with a touch of ‘what if’ about it, chiefly Ben Stokes following his century against the Netherlands with a 76-ball 84 that, along with a chaotic last 10 overs of 97 runs and seven wickets, posted 337 for nine. Had Stokes not suffered a hip injury in the gym upon arrival in India, missing the first three matches and then taking time to find his touch, three wins from nine and a confirmed seventh place in the table might have been bettered.

Similarly, had England, like semi-finalists Australia and New Zealand, played more warm-up cricket in Asian conditions before the big push, their bowlers might have located their lengths sooner. They have grown into the campaign too late for it to count, bidding farewell in the haze of bustling Kolkata by rolling Pakistan for 244 all out with 39 balls to spare.

They were seldom in the hunt. David Willey reached 100 ODI wickets in his final England appearance before retirement via figures of three for 56, with Abdullah Shafique lbw first ball, and the dangerous Fakhar Zaman chipping to mid-off for one, derailing things from the outset. Adil Rashid moved to 199, a couple of fizzing beauties bowling Saud Shakheel and Shadab Khan to undermine Pakistan’s middle order.

Perhaps this late upturn was simply the result of playing without pressure. Perhaps it was meeting Mick Jagger at the team hotel the night before, a man who knows a thing or two about rolling out the hits. There were a few from the England of old on the day; a punchy opening stand of 82 powered by Jonny Bairstow’s 59 and Stokes unfurling that reverse-swept six from Headingley 2019 as he and Joe Root, 60 from 72, laid the platform for an admittedly chaotic late thrash against two reverse swinging old balls.

Root also became the first England batter to pass 1,000 World Cup runs but, like his tour as a whole, he struggled for rhythm. Buttler, whose flatlining form has been another issue, cracked 27 from 18 balls. His one six came when Haris Rauf offered a Trent Boult 2019 impression by back-peddling on to the rope at long-off; revenge at least came when his superb direct hit from short third man ended the England captain’s cameo.

If Stokes offered a nod to the past, looking utterly dominant until Shaheen Shah Afridi detonated his off stump with a wonderful yorker that atoned for dropping his man on 10, then a glimpse of future came via Harry Brook’s selfless 17-ball 30. Gus Atkinson was another, following Willey’s opening salvo by claiming the prized pelt of Babar Azam, caught pulling to mid-wicket on 38, to further suck the life out of the chase.

Atkinson added a second late on and both rookies will surely be in the ODI squad for December’s Caribbean tour which is named on Sunday. But plenty of spots will open up. Dawid Malan ended a solid campaign with 31 but, aged 36, expects to be culled. Moeen Ali, who claimed two for 60 and left Mohammad Rizwan on his backside, bowled on the charge for 36, is another to signpost the likely end of his personal 50-over road.

His fellow Brummie, Chris Woakes, may be wondering the same. If so, a fine ODI career at least had a sweet ending, Woakes dousing a late dose of fire from the blades of Mohammad Wasim Jr (16) and Rauf (35) by making the latter his 31st World Cup wicket and thus breaking Ian Botham’s England record. By this stage a terrific crowd had thinned out, the contest, like the campaigns of both teams, over.