England ended their World Cup campaign with a commanding consolation victory over Pakistan in Kolkata.
With their hopes of reaching the semi-finals long gone, the defending champions put in their best performance with the bat throughout their time in India by scoring 337-9.
Ben Stokes top-scored again with 84, sharing a stand of 132 in 131 balls with Joe Root, who made 60.
Openers Jony Bairstow and Dawid Malan scored 59 and 31 respectively, while Jos Buttler’s 27 and Harry Brook’s 30 also boosted the score.
David Willey struck with the second ball of Pakistan’s chase and two further wickets took him to 100 one-day international wickets in his last game before international retirement.
Pakistan began the day with the most unlikely hope of a semi-final spot but England’s impressive total meant they had to complete their chase in 6.4 overs to overhaul New Zealand’s net run-rate.
They were bowled out for 244 without seriously threatening to pull off a tournament-ending win as England completed a 93-run win.
England finish the group stage in seventh with Pakistan fifth – both qualifying for the Champions Trophy in 2025 in the process – while this long group stage concludes on Sunday as India host the Netherlands.
England had been expected to contest next week’s semi-finals but will instead next be in action in December for a white-ball tour of West Indies. After their disappointing World Cup, it is unclear how many of this squad will be moved on.
The Test side returns to India for a five-match series in January. (BBC Sport)
