It was a series of limp, lifeless defeats at a World Cup that proved the catalyst for a new era of English ODI excellence eight years ago. None, though, were as empathic as this one, which surely confirms its end.
Comfortably beaten by New Zealand and Afghanistan in two of their opening three matches, England were on the receiving end of something nowhere near as polite in their fourth, simply eviscerated by an outstanding South Africa in Mumbai.
