England needed to make a statement in their World Cup opener against South Africa – and they delivered it tenfold.
Criticism swirled round the team after their group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup this time last year and the 16-0 Ashes thrashing in January.
In fact, ever since that 2024 winter of discontent, news conferences, articles and the narrative of pretty much every game they have played has been dominated by what had gone so badly wrong before.
Subsequent series wins over West Indies counted for little because of the standard, while defeats by India reopened the cracks.
Their script needed rewriting – and yes, there is a long way to go from winning their first game of the tournament – but the emphatic nature of this 10-wicket win against South Africa was exactly what was needed.
“There’s been a lot of talk around this England side after the Ashes, and they’ve obviously moved on from that,” said World Cup winner Alex Hartley on BBC Test Match Special.
“Don’t get me wrong, they’ll have learned so many lessons from Australia – but things couldn’t have gone any better for them here to start to rewrite everything that has been said about them.”
Every aspect of England’s set-up had been questioned – from the batters to the bowlers, to their fitness levels and fielding standards.
Even their selection for this tournament lent itself to scrutiny, and the fact that most of the players were part of the Ashes squad, but new captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and coach Charlotte Edwards were insistent things would be different.
It did not materialise against India at home, and on balance that was to be expected considering the little time Edwards had to implement her ways, but 24 hours out from this game, Sciver-Brunt gave a brave but confident answer that this side was “chalk and cheese” from the versions which stepped out previously.
Chalk and cheese it was, and while it would be crackers to get carried away knowing a long tournament is ahead of England, the signs are promising.
Sciver-Brunt’s demeanour around the press is relaxed but with a steely edge while Edwards has a quiet determination. This ruthless dismantling of South Africa was rooted in such qualities.