England end 2023 Cricket World Cup debacle with win over Pakistan, Australia beat Bangladesh

England signed off their 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign with victory over Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday, while Australia beat Bangladesh.

Jos Buttler’s side already had no chance of reaching the last four after a dismal campaign which had seen them even put their participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy in doubt at one point.

However, this time around, England put in a strong batting performance with a score of 337-9, finally recording a reasonable total after struggling against the ball for the past weeks.

Ben Stokes, set to have surgery when he returns from India, made a top score of 84, and with Joe Root (60) he put on a stand of 132 off 131.

They were helped by decent contributions from Jonny Bairstow, who made 59, and Dawid Malan who hit 31. Buttler himself added 27, and Harry Brook notched 30.

England’s bowlers have been in better nick than their batting colleagues, and David Willey took a wicket with the second ball of Pakistan’s innings, and he added another two before the game was out.

That left him on 100 ODI wickets in what will be his final international appearance ahead of his retirement in the format.

Pakistan were only able to stutter to 244 as they were bowled out, meaning their chances of overhauling New Zealand to reach the semi-finals were dashed.

They finished fifth in the table, and as hosts will take part in the 2025 Champions Trophy, while England will join them as they finish seventh.

Earlier, Mitchell Marsh powered to a magnificent century as Australia eased to an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh.

The Australians capped off their final group game in style, where Marsh hit nine sixes during his unbeaten 177 effort.

"It feels great, it's nice to finish off the group with another win and we're on to the semis,” Marsh said after the game. “Hopefully that game will be a ripper.

"I want to play with the same intent at number three as I do when I open and I lost that at times, so it was nice for that to come off today."

Australia had already secured their spot in the semi-finals, where they will play South Africa in what is set to be an intriguing battle.

"We have got a few selection headaches but that's a nice problem to have,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said. "Mitchell Marsh was incredible, he played beautifully and he is a scary prospect for bowlers."

David Warner opened the batting for Australia and notched 53 runs, with Steve Smith adding 63 not out as they chased down a 307 target.

Marsh’s 177 fast-tracked them to their target, with Travis Head chipping in with ten runs.

Earlier, Towhid Hridoy starred at the crease for Bangladesh scoring 74.

All seven Bangladesh batters passed the 20-run mark, but only Hridoy was able to build on that in a frustrating afternoon.

With an encouraging finish in sight for the already-eliminated side at 239-4, the Australians kept them to just a further 67 runs and took four wickets in the remaining ten overs.

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