West Indies are making Group C look plain sailing, England are all at sea. Like, by and large, the ball (unless it was arrowing towards a fielder), England’s pursuit of a target of 197 never got off the ground, and after a largely pedestrian performance veered towards the end into a bilious combination of slapstick and horror they had been dismissed for 166 and, with seven balls remaining, been beaten by 30 runs.
Had the knife-edge result against Nepal on Sunday fallen the other way this would already be another crisis in a winter full of them. As it is they will head to Kolkata, where they complete their group fixtures against Scotland and Italy, confident given the nature of their opponents of securing the wins they require to progress to the Super Eights but knowing they can afford no further stumbles.
