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Okay, at times like this it can be easy to resort to hyperbole and think of the latest woeful capitulation as being the worst you have seen. But can anything have been as bad as this for England? Ever?
The grim statistics tell you all you need to know - England were brushed aside for 123 in 33.2 overs having been 102 for three after 25 and then overtaken by New Zealand in just 12.2 overs. If it were not so embarrassing it would be laughable and it is hard to see how England can recover from this.
They play Scotland in Christchurch on Monday and can afford no further slip-ups if they are to reach the quarter-finals, let alone compete in this World Cup. And the damage done to some of the England players, not to mention the regime who have been trying to pick up the broken pieces of English cricket for over a year since the Ashes, could be irreparable.
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England were always going to struggle against Australia and New Zealand in their opening two games. It would be unrealistic to think anything otherwise with a team playing catch-up in the demands of modern one-day cricket.
But to lose so emphatically, so gruesomely and without any glimmers of encouragement was almost cruel. More than cruel, it was obscene. And it left English cricket squirming in disbelief.
Credit where it is due. New Zealand were magnificent here in their capital city and Tim Southee produced a truly great spell of fast bowling to rip the heart out of the feeble English batting. It was close to the perfect performance.
This is not the New Zealand we have become accustomed to in recent years. They are no longer the dark horses or the gallant, but not quite top class, triers. They are one of the best, most aggressive and potent teams in this tournament.
In Brendon McCullum they have the best, most aggressive and most imaginative captain in world cricket and an awesome presence at the top of the order, as he showed with a spectacular display of hitting when he had England on the floor.
This was a special day for New Zealand cricket and their hugely impressive captain who thrashed England for 77 in just 25 balls with seven sixes and eight fours. Yes that's right. He hit 77 off 25 balls whereas the best England could muster was Joe Root's 46 as everything fell apart around him. Men against boys.
But no England side should be beaten as comprehensively as this. Not by any side in the world game. Not with all their money and resources, all the expertise at their disposal and all the tradition and history of their cricket.
We had to sit through last year's Ashes for heaven's sake so that the calendar could be changed and England could have an unprecedented run of one-day cricket to try to make sure they were as thoroughly prepared as possible to compete in this World Cup. Please do not laugh when you read that.
How pathetic that seems now. It has meant nothing. Not unless England can somehow rise from the canvas and begin their World Cup all over again now the spectre of facing up to the big two has been taken away from them.
For now they have much, much to contemplate. They had no answer to the brilliance of Southee after Eoin Morgan had gone against his instincts and decided to bat first even though the ball was swinging round corners in practice.
Four of Southee's seven wickets were clean bowled, at least two of them in Ian Bell and Moeen Ali dismissed by absolute beauties, and when he had finished he had the best one-day international figures in New Zealand history and the third best of any side in any World Cup.
The game was over then as a contest but the humiliation was only just starting. For McCullum absolutely murdered them with an eye on New Zealand's run-rate, showing no mercy to his close friend Morgan and inflicting every ounce of damage possible on Steven Finn in particular who went for 49 off two overs.
It was all over by 6.30pm even though, absurdly, the match had to stop for supper when New Zealand needed just 12 runs for victory. At least those spectators in the 30,000 sell-out crowd at this rugby stadium who had decided to come to the match after work had a little more cricket to see.
New Zealand will take some beating in this tournament but that is no consolation for England. They head south to Christchurch with their reputations on the line and with Peter Moores having to show more than ever in his troubled two spells as England coach that he belongs at this level.
A game against Scotland, with England's World Twenty20 winning captain in Paul Collingwood in their ranks, suddenly becomes the most important game in the lives of this England side and their coaches. They cannot afford to fail now.
- Daily Mail
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