As Kolkata twinkled in anticipation for Diwali, two sides for whom the lights went out in this World Cup met at the iconic Eden Gardens. England eased to a 93-run win over Pakistan, even if they would have happily traded places in the final shake-up.
Babar Azam’s team were all but certain to finish fifth and confirmation essentially came at the toss. Any distant hope of conjuring up the landslide 287-run (or more) scoreline needed to sneak into the semi-finals via net run rate dissolved when Jos Buttler won it and opted to bat first. Chasing a target to make the top four, the sums suggested, was even closer to an outright impossibility.
But until the final result of the match became obvious, a 37,000-strong crowd positively itching to start the festive period still whipped up the atmosphere of a 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. Six weeks on, they fly home in seventh place. Buttler played down talk of a “clearout” afterwards, head coach Matthew Mott made it sound like a number of changes were coming. No wonder Eoin Morgan, happily on the sidelines these days, has been querying the messaging.
This victory 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 – two when already out of the running – 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 one-day international 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 wickets, a couple of fizzing beauties bowling Saud Shakeel 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 backpeddling on to the rope at long-off; revenge at least came when a 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, 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 have banked experience on this trip, however bleak it has been. But spots will open up elsewhere. Dawid Malan ended a solid campaign with a crisp 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.
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His fellow Brummie, Chris Woakes, may wonder if he will be picked again in this format. If not, a fine ODI career at least had a sweet ending, Woakes dousing a late bit 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 the terrific crowd had thinned out, spectators possibly holding a bit back in the knowledge that, unlike for these two departing teams, there will be plenty of celebrations in the coming days.
