Australia held back their leggie, Adam Zampa, until after the powerplay and his spell was crucial, removing both openers. First ball he bowled Salt with a quick leg-break that skidded on. Buttler drove the first ball of Zampa’s second over for a flat six, but reverse-swept the next delivery to backward point and was given a send off by Wade.

At the 10-over mark England were 93-2 and still fighting. Moeen hit three big sixes and Bairstow swung for all his might. It was ugly hacking, like watching a Sunday golfer cut up a championship course. His seven off 13 did not cost England the match but it sucked all momentum from the chase.

Zampa bowled 10 overs at the 50-over World Cup against England without conceding a boundary and was just as effective again, his two for 28 off four overs completing a job well done for Australia and putting Buttler back under the cosh.

How much trouble are England in?

By Will Macpherson

After a rain-affected draw while in a difficult position against Scotland and losing heavily to Australia, champions England find themselves in a precarious position. They are fourth in Group B, with a poor net run-rate (minus 1.8) and are battling to make it to the Super Eight stage.

Can England still qualify for the Super Eights?

The short answer is yes, but there is no room for error, and no room for poor weather. They fly to Antigua on Sunday and face Oman on Thursday, then Namibia two days later. They must win both, and win well, to improve their net run-rate above Scotland’s. Any points dropped just about confirms their elimination.

Can anyone else make their life easier?

Oman’s game against Scotland in Barbados on Sunday has just taken on greater importance for England. An Oman victory would put England bottom of the group, but possibly make their path to the Super Eights easier due to Scotland’s dropped points. Having beaten Namibia, though, Scotland are a team in form.

The fly in the ointment

The last game of the group is Australia vs Scotland. They are arguably England’s two greatest rivals across all sports and could be presented with an unusual opportunity that they would surely relish: conspiring to knock England out.

If all three teams win all their games until that point, Australia would already be through with six points. England and Scotland would both have five. So a Scotland win would send Scotland and Australia through, but even a Scotland defeat of limited margin could be enough to send England home on net run-rate. Watch this space.

The best news for England would be that they win their remaining games, then hope Australia thrash Scotland. It is not often England pray for an Australia win…

England vs Australia: As it happened