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21 minutes ago
England were dumped out of the Champions Trophy by a nerve-shredding eight-run defeat by Afghanistan in Lahore.
Joe Root threatened to rescue his side from the brink, hitting a superb 120 as others fell around him in pursuit of 326.
But, battling cramp by the end, Root was caught with 39 runs needed from 26 balls as Afghanistan, who would have also been out with defeat, came roaring back.
England should still have won – they needed 17 from 14 balls with three wickets left – but they fell away after Jamie Overton hit to long-on for 32.
Jofra Archer followed for 14 in the penultimate over, leaving final pair Adil Rashid and Mark Wood 13 to get from the last.
They managed only singles from the first four balls and Rashid was caught at long-off off the penultimate delivery as England were dismissed for 317.
That they got so close masked a wretched bowling performance in which they lost all control as Ibrahim Zadran took Afghanistan to 325-7 with a sensational 177 from 146 balls.
Battling to overcome an injury to Wood, England had their opponents 37-3 in the ninth over but conceded 108 in the final nine which ultimately decided the contest.
Defeat means England are eliminated at the earliest opportunity – their fate decided before the final group match against South Africa in Karachi on Saturday.
Another miserable night for England
After the final catch was taken, the thousands of Afghanistan stands in Lahore were dancing in the aisles.
Australia showed four nights ago England’s target was chaseable by knocking off 352 against them on this ground.
But this many runs, for this team, under this pressure always felt unlikely and so, ultimately, it proved. That they got so close will only add to the pain.
With help from the rest of the top order scarce, Root took the match onto his shoulders and had swung it back to his until he gloved an upper cut off seamer Azmatullah Omarzai.
England used to be the standard of the white-ball world and would have still closed out the match in days gone. Any aura built under Eoin Morgan has drained away over a miserable 18-month period, however.
Captain Jos Buttler admitted on Tuesday his future as captain could be decided by the result and defeat leaves him under immense pressure – this his third poor white-ball tournament in a row after failed defences of the 2023 50-over World Cup and the T20 version in 2024.
Brendon McCullum has been unable to change England’s fortunes since taking over as coach in January but will be given time to attempt to turn the ship around.
Buttler’s future is far less certain.
