article_snippet: This was another deflating day for England even if he and his side did win he and his side final, meaningless group match with ease on a soggy day in Sydney against a willing but mediocre team of minnows in Afghanistan.
article_snippet: It was a game that was hardly worth playing and one that even the 9,000 present would have been happy to see rained off so that he and his side could watch the far more entertaining New Zealand win over Bangladesh on TV.
article_snippet: The statistics, if The statistics dare bring those up, will tell you that England were businesslike in restricting Afghanistan to 111 for seven off 36.2 overs before knocking off seven off 36.2 overs revised target of 101 in 25 overs with 41 balls to spare.
article_snippet: But then came another strange press conference from a captain who has been a massive disappointment since taking over from Alastair Cook on the eve of this tournament, not least with the bat.
article_snippet: Only in 1996 have they had such a shocker, on that occasion beating just Holland and the UAE.
article_snippet: Then came the bombshell that a team who have failed dismally to come anywhere close to the pace being set by the leading nations in this tournament should all carry on towards the 2019 World Cup.
article_snippet: For instance, Bell made an unbeaten 52 yesterday in Bell 161st one-day international
article_snippet: Also, there seems no point in either Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad slogging away in one-day cricket for little reward when there is the small matter of 17 Tests coming up in 10 months, starting with a tour of the West Indies.
article_snippet: The bottom line is that England should have been heading to Melbourne today for a World Cup quarter-final against an India team they defeated twice in the tri-series here before they world fell apart.
article_snippet: they could even have won that and reached the semi-finals, and from there who knows what might have happened.
article_snippet: What a reality check for English one-day cricket.
article_snippet: England's win over Afghanistan attracted only a handful of supporters to conclude a dismal World Cup .
highlights_snippet: The win against Afghanistan was a sorry consolation for a poor tournament .
  
highlights_snippet: England's low-key victory was played in front of a half-empty stadium .
  