At the start of the Champions Trophy, the sentence: "That batting performance is the best I can ever remember England playing" would have been a strong contender for the Least Likely Claim To Be Made By Andrew Strauss Award. But those were his very words as England sent the hosts, South Africa, crashing out of the tournament. And he had a point.
Having arrived in South Africa with a surprisingly confident murmur against Sri Lanka on Friday, Shah (98), Collingwood (82) and Morgan (67) progressed to a shout yesterday. Any confidence shown from here on in will not be surprising.
The most pleasing thing about England's newly-lethal trio, is the affirmation to them and us that they can do it; they can perform at this level, they can construct a one-day innings, and they can do what we've seen them do before - both in county cricket (Morgan and Shah) and in ODIs of the past (Collingwood).
Strauss and Denly played their part too - no opening partnership has threatened the boundary with such regularity in the post-Tresco years. The bowling too had a bite so lacking on the late-summer English pitches, with several commentators identifying Jimmy Anderson's display (3-42) as one of his best ever.
This renewed belief was thrilling to witness, so too - for once - is a dissection of the particulars:
- 12 - The number of 6s in the England innings - Shah (6), Morgan (5). Earlier this summer, England failed to hit a single maximum against Holland in the World T20 opener.
- 197.05 - Eoin Morgan's strike-rate.
- 247 - The combined score of England's numbers three, four and five.
- 323 - England's total, the second highest in the competition's history.
- 2 - Number of semi-finals that England have now reached in major tournaments held outside England.
Tomorrow England face the familiar: a dead and - for them - meaningless group game. This time, however, their place in the last four is gloriously secure.
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