The England players who hit the golf course on Sunday morning probably did the right thing, really. Back at the team hotel they were replaying the defeat against Australia the previous night on a jumbo‑sized screen, with the gentle flute muzak in the lobby barely softening the sight of Josh Inglis going gangbusters.
Plenty went back to their own struggle to tee off with the bat. At the 30-over mark, England were 200 with just two down, only to finish 351 for eight. It was their highest score at a global event, the highest by any side at a Champions Trophy. But it was still only par and swiftly bumped down to No 2 as regards the second of those two records.
It was a tough first outing for the frontliners, Archer and Mark Wood fading after fearsome starts and, in combination with Brydon Carse, whose back-of-a-length heft was too easily pulled by Inglis and co, they shipped 8.5 runs per over combined. There is no left-armer, a shortage of variation among the right-armers, and no frontline spinner should they somehow kick on and play the Dubai semi-final.
“Like anything, it can take a little bit of time,” Livingstone said, when asked about Brendon McCullum’s impact since becoming white-ball head coach this year. “But we don’t really have time on our side in this tournament, for sure. Hopefully that turnaround comes in the next game and we can ride away from there.”
England stay put for now, Afghanistan next up in Lahore on Wednesday – another day‑nighter in which again conditions could lurch – before switching to Karachi to play South Africa three days later. They may yet ride away to make Buttler’s smile less forced. But as per their past two global events, they continue to do it the hard way.
