England a white-ball work in progress

A day after Australia smashed a record 263 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, England ended their northern summer in timid fashion totally out of keeping with their new-found reputation as limited-overs cavaliers.

It was only eight days previously that Eoin Morgan’s side had broken a record of their own – racking up 3-444 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge to post the highest score in ODI history.

But if Australia, whose own total was the biggest-ever struck in a T20 international, had laid down a marker in the game’s shortest format, England reverted back to their old selves as they limped to 135-7 during a nine-wicket defeat by Pakistan in Manchester.

Graeme Swann, the former England spinner working for BBC Test Match Special, had built England up before this match, saying: “We saw a great pitch at Trent Bridge give us 400-odd, it’s a matter of time someone gets 300 in a T20. And this England team can do it, I think they’re better than the Australian side.”

They looked anything but as England’s powerful batting line-up were neutered by some excellent Pakistan bowling and a large playing area with the ropes right out that made boundaries far harder to score than at Trent Bridge the previous week.

Swann’s patriotic prediction could still come true, after all this England team reached the World T20 final in Kolkata as recently as April.

But Morgan’s side were a shadow of the clean-striking unit who excelled in that tournament, hitting just one six in 20 overs and a single boundary from the final 10.

It was a performance that perhaps underlined that despite much promise, England are still a work in progress in white-ball cricket and need to work on their consistency if they are to fulfil their potential.

Morgan said: "I still believe we are on an upward curve - in 50-over and Twenty20 cricket.

"If we do come up against conditions like that again, it’s going to be difficult to force a win – you’re going to have to get off to an absolute flier.

"Conditions changed quite dramatically throughout the game. With the benefit of hindsight, I probably would have bowled first and chased in the evening - given how much dew there was about.

"They certainly batted on a different wicket than we did.

"Pakistan bowled well, and adapted to the circumstances - but given the pitch we bowled on, we probably would have needed 180-185. The ball seemed to slide on quite nicely.

"We are not a timid batting team - we play quite aggressively. But none of us seemed to catch fire or get going."

This match, which ended Pakistan’s four-month tour of the UK and Ireland on a high, was odd given it was a one-off contest at the fag end of the northern summer and so far away from the next World T20.

England, though, did field the same XI that reached the final of the last tournament in India – including all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was playing his first T20I since being hit for four sixes by Carlos Brathwaite at Eden Gardens that carried West Indies to a dramatic final-over win.

This match, though, was anything but dramatic and ensures England have plenty to think about in short-form cricket ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy in the UK.