And as the Lahore groundstaff water the pitch in their purple uniforms, we’ll take our leave after a wonderful game.
It was a fantastic win for this unfamiliar Australia, and a huge confidence boost to chase down 350 with overs in their pocket.
For England, who must now must beat Afghanistan and South Africa, it was another disappointing result - but one that doesn’t tell the whole story. Duckett’s magnificat 165 led the way, Root batted with typical poise, and Archer snaffled useful runs at the end. England’s spinners kept things tight and, if Carse had an off day, a catch that wasn’t in the deep by Archer could have made the difference.
Here’s Ali Martin’s match report. Thanks for your company, we’ll be back in the morning for the fireworks that are India v Pakistan. Good night!
Updated
Ben Duckett
“Feel pretty flat right now. Obviously happy to have scored runs but never the same in a losing cause.
“I think chasing down 350, got to give them credit. Felt like we were one-two wickets away from winning pretty easily, felt like we maybe cut (?) a little too much with the ball, we needed to keep two stumps in play.
“You only have to walk over the field now to feel the change [in conditions]. Getting 350 and getting Head and Smith in the power play we were pretty happy.
“I was really excited when I was told by Baz I was going to open in this format, I want to score big hundreds and be that guy who wins us games. Obviously delighted with the way I’m hitting the ball at the moment
“Facing spin is a lot easier when you’re 40 not out, I probably wouldn’t have run down and hit those first two off MAxwell if I’d been on four. Today I certainly wasn’t fluent at the top.”
“We’re in the competition and we’ve lost the first game against Australia, we’re all hurting but the beauty of this format and we’ll wake up tomorrow and be ready for Afghanistan.”
