Match 1: Beat Zimbabwe by six wickets (13 balls remaining)
In the first fixture of the tournament, every bowler chipped in - reducing Zimbabwe to 98/4. Murray Goodwin (54) and Mark Vermuelen (62) rallied with a century stand, but a mini-collapse in the last few overs gave Ashley Giles three wickets and England a target of 223 to win. All of the batsmen got starts, but only Graeme Hick (80*) went on to get a big score. He was well supported by Trescothick (42) and Hussain (30*), guiding England to victory with thirteen balls to spare.

Match 2: Beat Netherlands by nine wickets (180 balls remaining)
The Netherlands batted first and impressed, van Oosterom and Ahmed putting on 116 for the first wicket. Unfortunately, the innings never really accelerated, and the Netherlands set England a tricky but fairly simple target of 219 to win. The run chase was a true masterclass of one day batting. Trescothick (104*) and Knight (106) pulverised a weak Dutch attack. Knight fell with ten to win, but, with thirty overs to spare.

Match 3: Beat Namibia by five wickets (158 balls remaining)
From a feeble bowling side to a feeble batting side, England notched up their third back to back victory. Namibia crawled to 166/9 with only Riaan Walters (47) and Stefan Swanepoel (45) lasting for more than a handful of balls. England, too, lost quick wickets, stumbling to 101/5, and for the first time in the game Namibia had their noses in front. Four overs later, it was all over, Flintoff having biffed 38* with the rock, Graham Thorpe, nurdling an unbeaten 60.


Match 4: Beat Pakistan by four wickets (2 balls remaining)
The English bowlers did exceedingly well to restrict one of the best one day batting lineups to just 220/7, especially when after 20 overs, Saeed Anwar and Nasim Khan had taken the Pakistanis to 106 without loss. After them, only Youhana passed thirty as Pakistan staggered through their last thirty overs. None of the England batsmen made the most of their starts, either, as Trescothick (36), Knight (29), and Hick (41) got in and got out. With ten overs and four wickets left, Ashely Giles and Alec Stewart needed well over a run a ball. With four overs left, 42 runs were needed, and the Pakistanis relaxed. Stewart and Giles went all out on the attack, and, with two balls left, reached their target.

Match 5: Beat India by 33 runs (14 balls remaining)
Batting first for the first time in the tournament, England gave their most clinical performance yet. Trescothick (78) and Knight (57) put on 120 for the first wicket before a mini collapse saw both of them and Thorpe in convoy back to the pavilion. Graeme Hick (120* - 93 balls) and Nasser Hussain (102* - 79 balls) decided that the best mode of defence was attack. They went on to put together 223 runs in the last twenty-five overs to set a massive target for India to chase. When Dravid and Tendulkar put together a massive, match-changing partnership (they each got a hundred) the game looked to be India's for the winning, and England weren't bowling badly. Flintoff and Hutchison each took a wicket to break the patnership, and Hoggard and Caddick took six wickets in six overs to obliterate the run chase, giving England a clinical victory.

Match 6: Lost to Australia by 50 runs (49 balls remaining)
A big 115 from Adam Gilchrist was the difference between the two teams, and he was well supported by fidgety thirties by Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich. Australia reached a good 251 on a poor pitch. Their opening bowlers were too good for our top order, and reduced us to 53/5. Alec Stewart (83*) and Andrew Flintoff (51) rebuilt the innings, but just weren't good enough to get all the way to the target. After that, the tail crumbled and England lose their momentum ahead of the Super Sixes, but finish top of their group.