Manchester United "Class of 92" members Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham are the co-owners of a Football League club after Salford City beat AFC Fylde 3-0 to win the National League playoff final at Wembley.

Goals from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Carl Piergianni and Ibou Touray mean Salford are elevated to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in their history after a final between two sides who have never played in the Football League.

Fylde created the game's first danger inside the opening minute when Alex Reid was just unable to get on the end of a low ball into the penalty area.

Salford soon hit back, Scott Wiseman firing narrowly wide from outside the area and Danny Whitehead blasting over.

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They made the breakthrough after quarter of an hour, Devonte Redmond's free-kick causing chaos in the Fylde defence and Dieseruvwe profiting to slide the ball in from close range.

Fylde brought on former Salford player Nick Haughton for the injured Luke Burke in an enforced early change and almost found themselves 2-0 down when a Nathan Pond header went just wide.

Andy Bond fired over for Fylde after a neat exchange of passes had freed him inside the penalty area, but Salford almost doubled their lead within seconds of the start of the second half, Dieseruvwe bulleting a header narrowly wide after a cross from the right.

And after Lois Maynard's shot was deflected over, they took a giant step towards the Football League, defender Piergianni thumping home a header from the resulting corner to make it 2-0.

On the hour it was game over, Touray getting down the left and his intended cross sailing over keeper Jay Lynch and going in off the far post to kick-start the celebrations among the watching former United stars.

Allan Cruz and Fatai Alashe each scored goals as FC Cincinnati presented interim coach Yoann Damet with a win his coaching debut on Saturday, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Impact.

Darren Mattocks set up Cruz's tally in the seventh minute to end a five-game goal drought for Cincinnati (3-7-2, 11 points), which was playing in its first match since dismissing Alan Koch earlier this week.

Spencer Richey denied a point-blank chance from Anthony Jackson-Hamel in the 89th minute and finished with two saves for Cincinnati, which saw the 29-year-old Damet become the youngest head coach to walk the sideline in a Major League Soccer match. Damet served as the Montreal Impact Under-18 head coach prior to joining Cincinnati.

Orji Okwonkwo substituted into the match in the 63rd minute and scored in the 75th for Montreal (6-5-2, 20 points), which has lost two of its last three matches.

FC Cincinnati ended its scoring drought at 528 minutes after Mattocks worked deep into the left side of the box before sending a centering feed to Cruz, who flicked a left-footed shot that sailed past Evan Bush (zero saves) and under the crossbar.

Cruz's goal was his team-leading second of the season. Prior to the tally, Cincinnati scored an MLS-low eight goals from eight different players.

It also marked Cincinnati's first goal since Mattocks converted a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw against Kansas City on April 7. The win was the team's first since March 24.

Cincinnati doubled its advantage after Roland Lamah weaved inside before Alashe scored from the center of the box for his first goal of the season.

The Impact trimmed the deficit in the 75th minute, as Okwonkwo's diving header bounced past Richey.

Montreal nearly forged a tie at 1 in the 40th minute after Michael Ariza's through ball found Daniel Lovitz for an apparent goal, but officials deemed that the latter player was offside.

Richey preserved Cincinnati's 1-0 advantage by thwarting Samuel Piette's bid at the post in the 58th minute.

DORTMUND, Germany -- Christian Pulisic scored a goal in his final home match for Borussia Dortmund as the club kept their Bundesliga title hopes alive before the United States star joins Chelsea in a €64 million transfer this summer.

Dortmund beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-2 and Bayern Munich drew 0-0 with RB Leipzig on the penultimate matchday of the Bundesliga season. Bayern, two points ahead of their rivals, can secure their seventh consecutive title with a win or draw against Frankfurt next weekend as they have a vastly superior goal difference.

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Pulisic handed Dortmund the lead against Dusseldorf with a close-range header four minutes before half-time and was fighting his emotions when celebrating.

"The goal was just perfect. Thomas [Delaney] headed it right across. I couldn't miss from there. It was a perfect way to start. I was a bit overwhelmed as well. Everything worked out perfect today," Pulisic told reporters after the match.

"Before was honestly the hardest part. They gave me a little ceremony and it hit me when I was walking to the locker room. It was really emotional. My last time. It was not easy."

"It wasn't an easy situation for Christian," Dortmund squad manager Sebastian Kehl explained. "It was very emotional. You could see that in the locker room before the match. But he can just be proud how he solved it today. And also how well he handed the overall situation."

After the restart, Dortmund came out of 15 crazy minutes with a 2-1 lead. That included one goal at both ends, a missed Düsseldorf penalty and a Bayern goal ruled out by the VAR in the Leipzig match that would have handed them the title on the day.

Germany international Mario Gotze and Dusseldorf's Dawid Kownacki scored in injury time to make it 3-2 and ensure that the title would be decided next weekend, while Pulisic was substituted seconds before Gotze's goal and received a standing ovations from the fans, who also welcomed the club's former captain Marcel Schmelzer (who could also have played his last home game for Dortmund) to the pitch.

A draw against Europa League sensations Eintracht Frankfurt would secure the Bavarians yet another title. But Dortmund vowed to fight until the final minutes of the season.

"It was a perfect last home game for me. But we will never give up," Pulisic said. "All we can do is concentrate on what we can do. If we win our game, we have a chance."

Before the match, Pulisic bade farewell to Dortmund's Westfalenstadion and its famous Yellow Wall, Europe's largest standing terrace.

"Thank you all for five wonderful years. Without you fans I would not be here. Dortmund will always feel like home," Pulisic told the stadium in German. "All the best and hopefully see you again one day."

He told reporters: "I have been here for five years. And I felt it was necessary to do it in German. It was the right thing to do to say goodbye in German."

Pulisic made his debut for Borussia Dortmund aged 17 and went on to become the youngest ever player in Germany's top flight to score two goals.

In January 2019, Chelsea signed Pulisic for €64m but loaned him back to Dortmund until the end of the season.

In 89 Bundesliga appearances, Pulisic has now scored 13 goals for Dortmund with another two in 22 Champions League matches, and three in eight DFB-Pokal games. The only trophy he has won during his time at Dortmund was the 2017 German Cup.

The end of the Premier League season is upon us, and barring something extraordinary with the Champions League places, there is just one meaningful thing left to decide. And boy, is it meaningful: Manchester City go into their trip to Brighton a point ahead of Liverpool, who face Wolves at home, therefore knowing that a victory will guarantee the retention of the title.

These two sides have more or less been playing a different sport than the rest of the division this season and will finish at least 20 points ahead of their nearest challengers. So let's look at how their campaigns compare going into the final day.

Goals, goals, goals

Let's start with the basics: Manchester City have 91, Liverpool 87. Mohamed Salah is the biggest proportionate contributor, his 22 strikes representing around 25 percent of Liverpool's league total, but Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are just behind him: they have 20 and 17, respectively, chipping in 41 percent of City's tally between them.

City like to be on the front foot, too: They've scored the first goal in a whopping 83 percent of their games, with Liverpool trailing (just 68 percent) and the rest of the division in the dust. However, Liverpool is your team if you want late drama: 24 of their goals have come after the 75th minute of games, the most in the division by a distance. (Chelsea are next with 19, while City have 13.)

Both sides are fond of an old-fashioned thumping, too: They've each won by four or more goals on six occasions and have only failed to score four times between them, two of which are accounted for by the 0-0 draw at Anfield in October.

If at first you don't succeed, shoot again

It goes without saying that these two sides have scored the most goals in the Premier League this season, but it's also a lot to do with their overall style of play. City have taken 662 shots for those goals, but Liverpool's total is exactly 100 fewer, meaning they score once in roughly every six attempts as opposed to City's once every seven.

Analytic-phobes look away now, but City are more or less matching their expected goals (xG) projection, which is 91.5, while Liverpool are outperforming it: Their xG is 77.8.

Stingy at the back

Both teams have conceded an impressively miserly 22 goals; if both teams keep it tight on Sunday, it'll put them level for third in the Premier League's all-time best defences, alongside Manchester United in 2007-08 and Chelsea in 2005-06, and behind the 17 that Arsenal conceded in 1999 (when they finished second) and Jose Mourinho's first season at Chelsea in 2005, which saw them let in a remarkable 15.

Furthermore, both sides are outperforming their xG against, which stands at 25.14 for City and 28.26 for Liverpool. It's not just for their kicking and play out from the back that Ederson and Allison are considered two of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Of course, money talks

It's a slight curiosity that both teams spent north of £50 million on players last summer who have been relatively peripheral, with Naby Keita and Riyad Mahrez combining for just 29 league starts between them.

The two teams' most frequently used first XIs cost plenty, but it's no surprise that City's cost more. With the caveat that reported transfer fees are often tough to be 100 percent accurate, City assembled theirs for a total of £422.4 million, while Liverpool's set them back £289.8 million, nearly half of which -- £141.8 million -- went on Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, also featuring two free transfers (Joel Matip and James Milner), an academy product (Trent Alexander-Arnold) and two players purchased from relegated sides (Andrew Robertson and Georginio Wijnaldum).

Second place is the first loser?

With the clubs on 95 and 94 points, respectively, whoever finishes second will have the biggest points total for any runner-up in English top-flight history. The Manchester United side that got 89 points but lost the title on goal difference to City in 2011-12 currently holds the Premier League record, just ahead of the 86 Liverpool and Tottenham got when finishing second in 2009 and 2017. To delve into the archives, the only real comparable figures -- when adjusted for a 38-game season with three points for a win -- are Middlesbrough, with 83 in 1902, and Leeds United, with 82 in 1971.

Real Madrid still hold the record for the top five leagues in Europe, when Manuel Pellegrini's side finished on 96 points but still finished behind Barcelona (99) in 2009. Another current Premier League manager, Maurizio Sarri, guided Napoli to 91 points last season but trailed Juventus.

Is there still some drama ahead?

It sounds wild, but there could be a twist ahead. The two sides could finish level if City lose to Brighton and Liverpool draw with Wolves. Even then, City would probably still win the title on goal difference, but consider this: If it's a 4-4 draw at Anfield and City lose 4-0, the teams would finish on the same points, the same goal difference, the same goals scored and the same goals conceded. Thus, a single game playoff would be required to decide the champions.

It's unlikely, to say the least -- the odds on both of those happening are 63,000-1 -- but what a thing it would be...

Big Picture

The IPL's 12th edition has earned the blockbuster finale it deserves.

When Chennai Super Kings won last year, they tied Mumbai Indians' record of three IPL titles and opened up a debate about which was the better IPL side. After Sunday, that debate may well be decided.

Mumbai, who reached Hyderabad four days ago, have enjoyed a near-flawless season. They were at the top half of the points table all through and they will end the campaign without knowing what back-to-back losses feel like. It's been a team performance too: a total of four men have scored more than 300 runs for Mumbai and five have taken 10 or more wickets.

This was also the year when Hardik Pandya became Mumbai's premier death-overs batter, taking over from Kieron Pollard. His 386 runs have come at breakneck pace and that's often helped the team put up above-par totals and take down tough targets. Add eight overs of a fitter Lasith Malinga and a fiery Jasprit Bumrah, and you know why Mumbai have reached another IPL final.

For Super Kings, it's about proving popular wisdom wrong once again. A team with an average age near 35 was not supposed to contest in two finals in a row, but MS Dhoni's astute man-management - and a resurgence in personal form - has seen them reach their eighth final in 10 seasons.

With 414 runs, this has been Dhoni's best IPL season and for long it looked like he was carrying the weight of the Super Kings batting on his own. But they come to the final knowing the supporting cast - Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner - has produced some match-winning performances too.

Tournament finals are a whole different ball game though and results of yore - including the three times Mumbai have beaten Super Kings this season - carry very little weight in a game where pressure has a bigger role to play than skill. If there's anything Mumbai can hold on to, it's that they return to the same venue where they won their last IPL title in 2017. Oh, and that Rohit - unlike thala - has never lost an IPL final.

Likely XIs

Both teams have made very few changes - unless forced - all tournament. But a change in venue from their previous games could see Mumbai dropping extra spinner Jayant Yadav and bringing allrounder Ben Cutting in. Cutting was Man-of-the-Match when Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL 2016 final. Super Kings could offload Shardul Thakur, who bowled an expensive one-over spell in Qualifier 2, for an extra batting option in M Vijay.

Mumbai Indians: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Ben Cutting, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 M Vijay, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Imran Tahir

Previous meeting

Mumbai have won all three games against Super Kings in IPL 2019, the first almost wholly thanks to Hardik Pandya, the second thanks to Rohit and Malinga masterclasses and the third thanks to their spinners out-bowling CSK in their own den.

Strategy punt

• Don't save Bumrah for the death, save him for Dhoni instead. Overall, Dhoni has a strike-rate of only 102.20 against Bumrah in the IPL, with a dot-ball percentage of 46.20% and three dismissals in seven innings. And this season he is the only pace bowler against whom Dhoni does not have a strike-rate of more than 100.

• If Bumrah fails, let Hardik bowl to Dhoni. In seven innings against Hardik, Dhoni has scored only 21 runs in 26 balls. To counter both, Dhoni could promote himself up and take a shot against Mumbai's spin bowlers.

• Want to surprise Rohit? Throw in Deepak Chahar with the bat. Chahar's strike-rate of 189.70 between overs 7-15 (in four IPL innings) will allow Super Kings to maximise their run-scoring in a period where designated batsmen Rayudu and Raina have struggled. Ravindra Jadeja, too, could be a useful ploy against Krunal Pandya. Krunal has conceded 9.20 runs per over against left handers this season, while going at only 6.50 per over against right handers.

Stats and Trivia

• MS Dhoni, chasing his 100th win as Chennai Super Kings captain, has not struck a boundary off Rahul Chahar, Bumrah, Hardik or Krunal Pandya this year.

• The top four run-scorers in IPL finals are all in Super Kings. Suresh Raina (241 runs), M VIjay (181), MS Dhoni (178) and Shane Watson (156) lead the pack.

• Teams batting first in IPL finals have won 63.60% of all games.

• Mumbai are the only team to have a win-percentage of more than 50 against Super Kings.

• Rohit, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu will be chasing their fifth IPL titles - the most among any player.

Sanath Jayasundara, a performance analyst working in Sri Lanka Cricket's "Brain Centre", has become the latest figure in Sri Lankan cricket to be hit with corruption-related charges.

A long-time employee of SLC, Jaysundara has been charged by the ICC with offering a bribe to Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Harin Fernando, in order to "influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match."

In addition, a charge relating to "obstructing or delaying an Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigation" has also been laid. It is minister Fernando who is understood to have reported the alleged attempted bribe to the ACU, in January, less than a month after he had been appointed sports minister.

According to Sri Lanka's high performance manager Asanka Gurusinha, Jayasundera had worked with Sri Lanka's Under-19 team in addition to his duties with the Brain Centre, and had also worked with the national team in the past.

Where coaches Avishka Gunawardene and Nuwan Zoysa had on Friday been charged under the Emirates Cricket Board's anti-corruption code, Jayasudera has been charged under the ICC's own code. He now has 14 days to respond to the charges.

Supernovas 125 for 6 (Harmanpreet 51, Punia 29, Jahanara 2-21) beat Velocity 121 for 6 (Sushma 40, Kerr 36, Tahuhu 2-21) by four wickets

The Women's T20 Challenge aimed to pit India's best young talent against the world's best, and in the final on Saturday, Supernovas banked on 19-year old Radha Yadav to deliver the knockout blow. She did, hitting a brace of twos before coolly stepping out to scythe a full ball to the cover boundary to seal a win for the Supernovas. A strong crowd of 13,000 people applauded both teams as the tournament ended much like the way it began: a Harmanpreet Kaur special and a last-ball thriller.

All of it seemed unlikely when Velocity slumped to 37 for 5, playing one rash shot after another. Then, Amelia Kerr and Sushma Verma added 71 to lift them to 121 for 6. In reply, Supernovas slumped to 64 for 5. It needed a Harmanpreet special from there, and she delivered by shellacking a 34-ball half-century to take this right till the end MS Dhoni style.

The Tahuhu impact

Among the fastest bowlers in the women's game, Lea Tahuhu wasn't called into bowl a single over in the previous game as Supernovas banked on their spin riches. On a better batting deck, Harmanpreet turned to her trump card and she roared back in style, picking up two wickets in her first two overs.

She began with a wicket-maiden that brought her the scalp of Hayley Mathews with a peach that swung away late to nick her off. In her second over, she had Shafali Verma toe-end a drive to mid-off after the 15-year old had hit her for successive boundaries, the pull in front of square against pace showing signs of promise in the Haryana batter.

In between these two scalps, Anuja Patil proved why there is still place for her street-smart variations in the shortest format at least. By no means a turner of the ball, she relies on drift and zip off the pitch. She deceived Danny Wyatt in flight when she stepped out to loft inside out, only to be beaten by an away-drifter as Taniya Bhatia completed a smart stumping. The Powerplays produced 24 dot balls and with neither Mithali Raj nor Veda Krishnamurthy able to build an innings, Velocity hit a roadblock.

Kerr and Sushma provide the lift

Kerr possesses the highest score in women's ODIs - an unbeaten 232 against Ireland. Sushma, recently discarded as India's first-choice wicketkeeper, has a T20I best of 12 in 19 innings. With the Velocity innings headed south, they combined to add respectability to the innings by first playing risk-free cricket, and then seamlessly switching over to attack mode at the first sign of the bowlers switching off.

Kerr's use of the sweep, especially against the turn, and her feet to get to the pitch and drive was particularly impressive. Against Poonam Yadav, she displayed versatility by staying back inside the crease, at times getting inside the line and then playing her off the pitch because of her slowness in the air. Sushma proved the perfect ally, at no stage looking to match her partner stroke-for-stroke, yet opened up to treat fans to some gorgeous hits herself, the on-drive off Sciver in particular being a standout.

Once Kerr was out in the 19th over for a 38-ball 36, Sushma managed to pocket 12 more, including a six in the final over. She finished unbeaten on 40 off 32 balls and as she walked back, Velocity smelt hope.

Supernovas hit roadblock before Harmonster rises

Playing in front of her home crowd, Priya Punia provided a perfect start with a 31-ball 29, but her dismissal immediately in the aftermath of Jemimah Rodrigues' wicket left them precariously placed at 53 for 3. Then Jahanara, the Bangladesh allrounder, who may have not featured had the Australian superstars been made available, sent back Nat Sciver and Sophie Devine to open the floodgates. Enter the Harmonster, and things turned, slowly.

A week ago, Harmanpreet Kaur fell agonisingly short of victory despite taking Jhulan Goswami to the cleaners with Supernovas needing 19 off six balls. In the grand final, she didn't let the situation get there, but shepherded a chase that could have gone out of hand very quickly.

Harmanpreet was on 4 off 11 balls, with the side needing 58 off 35 when she hit her first boundary that came via a long hop she cut to bisect point and short third man. As it turned out, this was the trigger she needed. Two balls later, she slammed a half-tracker for six and then got on a roll, so much that Lea Tahuhu was a mere spectator at the other end.

Between Devine's dismissal and Harmanpreet's half-century that she raised off just 34 balls in the 19th over, Tahuhu's contribution was a solitary run off five deliveries. Then it all came down to seven off the final over, with Kerr tasked with the steep ask of defending with a short leg-side boundary to contend.

After Harmanpreet refused a single, she holed out to deep cover agonisingly, to briefly raise Velocity's hopes. But Radha coolly completed the job. After three twos that brought it down to one off one ball, Kerr tossed it up bravely, hoping against hope to deceive Radha in flight to take the game into a Super Over, but it wasn't to be. Radha scorched this through extra cover to seal the win.

Eoin Morgan praised Jos Buttler as "the difference between the teams" as England won a run-drenched match at the Ageas Bowl.

Buttler thrashed a 50-ball century - the 10th quickest in the history of ODI cricket - to help England to their seventh-highest total in this format of the game.

England plundered 74 from the final five overs of their innings (and 101 from the final eight) to register their 14th score in excess of 350 in 85 innings since the 2015 World Cup. To put that in perspective, they had made 350 twice in 640 innings before that tournament. Despite Pakistan achieving their highest ever second-innings score in ODI cricket - their coach, Mickey Arthur referred to it as a "valiant" chase - England held on to win by 12 runs.

Buttler has never broken into the top 10 of the ODI batting rankings but, in form like this, you wonder if England would swap him for anyone. So much time does he have, so quick are his hands, so wide his range of strokes, that he can make bowlers look utterly impotent. Pakistan attempted yorkers, bouncers, width and to cramp him, but to no avail with Arthur admitting he wasn't sure what the answer was.

"I don't know how you bowl to him," he said after the game. "I've just asked the bowlers the same thing and they didn't have an answer either. But I don't think we're going to stop him, so we've got to try to get him out."

Morgan, who added 162 in 14.5 overs with Buttler, agreed. "He seems to have a gear that not many of us have," he said. "I was in prime position to see the whole innings and his freakish knocks seem to be getting closer and closer together, so that's a good sign for us moving forward. He was brilliant and the difference in the two teams. We are very fortunate to have him in our side."

Indeed they are. And while few will remember the outcome of this series in years to come - we are, in reality, already in World Cup warm-up territory - it's hard to avoid the sense that Buttler could be on the verge of something quite special. For it is global tournaments that define reputations and, at 28 years old, he is about to stride across the biggest stage of all in his home nation. He does so imbued with the confidence of succeeding in the IPL and in the international game, and relaxed and happy on and off the pitch - on reaching his hundred, he celebrated by rocking his bat, in tribute to his new-born daughter, Georgia.

"I'm maturing age-wise as well," Buttler told Sky Sports afterwards. "I've learned a lot about myself and what works for me. I just think I've had some great experiences in the last few years which you can always use [in any given situation]."

He is already, arguably at least, the best white-ball batsman England have ever had and, as he crashed six after six into the stands against Pakistan, you could be forgiven for wondering if he was on the brink of entering an altogether more exclusive league of destroyers: a league populated by the likes of Viv Richards and AB de Villiers.

If that sounds hyperbolic, it is worth reflecting on some statistics. Buttler has now hit five of England's 10 quickest (in terms of balls faced) ODI centuries - including the quickest two - and averages 69.50 deliveries in reaching his eight ODI centuries. Nobody else (with at least eight ODI centuries) averages better than de Villiers' 81.90 balls. Buttler also averages 51.55 (at a strike-rate of 125.46) since the 2015 World Cup and, according to CricViz, scores at a rate of 181.20 in the last 10 overs since that tournament. The next highest (of players who have scored at least 500 runs) is Glenn Maxwell, at 160.55. In conditions like this, where the bowlers have nothing to work with, he represents a daunting proposition for the fielding side.

But, amid the carnage, David Willey emerged with credit. When he returned to the attack, Pakistan had six wickets in hand and required 69 from the final seven overs. For perhaps the first time, they were favourites. But so accurately did Willey bowl his wide yorkers, so well did he execute England's short-ball plan of attack against the left-handers (and Imad Wasim, in particular) that he conceded only 17 runs from his final three overs and picked up two important wickets.

It was a definitive moment in this match and may well be enough to secure Willey's World Cup place. On the sort of surface that could drive bowlers to despair - only once has an ODI in England (or Wales) resulted in a higher aggregate of runs - his economy rate of 5.70 runs per over was outstanding; apart from Haris Sohail, who delivered only three overs, every other bowler conceded more than a run a ball.

"He bowled beautifully," Morgan said. "He normally bowls a couple more overs up front when it swings a bit more but today it didn't actually swing for more than six or seven balls. 

"In the last four years, Willey and Liam Plunkett in particular have reacted when they have been put under pressure. You ask them to do more and they respond really well. They probably don't get the praise that they should.

"But I thought that all of the bowlers, including Dave, were brilliant, because they reacted really well. It was a belting wicket and probably got better as the day went on.

"All the bowlers are all pushing each other. It's like our batting unit in the last two or three years. Unfortunately, a couple of guys will miss out and it will be a tough decision because of what they have contributed over a long period of time."

Morgan denied the suggestion that, at some stages of the Pakistan innings, he wished he could call upon Jofra Archer, who was rested from this game. But he could have been forgiven if he did wish for him or Mark Wood. For even without playing, Archer's reputation seemed to improve.

He has only taken two ODI wickets but, as England's bowlers were thrashed around the Ageas Bowl, it was tempting to conclude that it was Archer they were missing the most: the pace, the bite, the incisiveness he adds. Without him they looked, at times, to have no answer to Pakistan's batting here.

It may well be a simplistic conclusion, though. This match was played on the flattest of surfaces that offered little to bowlers of any description. There is no guarantee that Archer, for all his promise and skill, would have fared any better. One of the great truisms of the game is that players' reputations often improve in their absence.

Whether Archer's emergence or Willey's excellence drags Chris Woakes back into the selection mix remains to be seen. But since the start of the Caribbean series, Woakes has bowled in four ODIs and claimed two wickets at a cost of 119 apiece, conceding 7.93 an over in the process. Tom Curran and Plunkett are probably more vulnerable, but Woakes still seems to be struggling to recover the pace or confidence he enjoyed for so long. Joe Denly might feel he was fortunate to miss bowling in this game. It remains remarkable that he is on the brink of going into a World Cup campaign as a spin-bowling all-rounder, having claimed one ODI wicket this decade. And that came from a wide.

There may be some concerns over Wood, too. It is now more than two months since he bowled a ball in anger and it seems unlikely he will play in Bristol, either. While the England management insist there is no serious problem, his history of ankle problems mean some question marks linger.

At full strength, England will find room for Wood and Archer. As Arthur suggested, on these surfaces - and there will probably be some very flat surfaces during the World Cup - it is essential to take wickets to contain batting units to manageable totals. England need the bite those two provide. They can't always rely on miracles from Buttler to save them.