As one Eoin Morgan six after another rained on Afghanistan's parade, it almost felt rude to ask the question. But after England's 150-run victory at Old Trafford, that question has become unavoidable. What has happened to the World Cup's competitive tension?
The tournament has now reached its halfway stage – and the hope is that the 24 games that remain provide rather more drama than the 24 that have gone.
Forget the four washouts, though three in four matches last week undeniably robbed the competition of momentum. No, the problem has been a lack of close finishes, which in turn reflects a wider issue for the global game.
England cruised to an emphatic 150-run victory over Afghanistan on Tuesday at Old Trafford
There has been a real lack of close finishes as the World Cup reaches the halfway stage
Eight of the nine successful run-chases so far have been completed with six wickets or more to spare, while only two of the 11 victories for the side batting first have been by 15 runs or fewer.
The only genuinely close game has been New Zealand's two-wicket win over Bangladesh at The Oval, while the only result remotely resembling a surprise came when Pakistan beat England by 14 runs at Trent Bridge.
Even the big daddy of the group games – India v Pakistan at Manchester on Sunday – turned out to be more hype than substance.
The reality is this World Cup needs an upset, starting on Wednesday at Edgbaston, where South Africa will be as good as out if they lose to New Zealand. Victory for the South Africans, on the other hand, would allow Bangladesh to stay in touch with the top four.
And yet, at this stage of proceedings, we could really do with a spicier storyline than a not-very-tense race for fourth.
The only result remotely resembling a surprise was Pakistan's victory over England
It would be easy to point to Afghanistan's failings as evidence that the gap between the established Test nations and the newcomers is more of a chasm. It's true that the Afghans have had a shocker, failing to reproduce any of the joyful cricket that has turned them into the game's most heart-warming story. But others have had a shocker too.
West Indies have been awful ever since reducing Australia to 147 for six at Trent
