Whisper it, but the stage is set for England's biggest World Cup letdown of the lot. If you thought 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 weren't great, try stumbling in front of your home crowd because the favourites tag around your neck is starting to resemble a millstone.
England's fate remains in their own hands, even after this worryingly timid defeat by Australia. But it is about the best that can be said right now.
If they fail to beat India on Sunday, then New Zealand the following Wednesday - and both sides are undefeated - 2019 could take its place in the crowded pantheon of English World Cup debacles.
The stage is set for England's biggest World Cup letdown of the lot after their loss to Australia
Eoin Morgan's team have now played seven matches and lost three, which is not the form of semi-finalists, let alone champions. And it is not the form of a side who, between the last World Cup and this, have obliterated almost everything in their path, rising to the top of the rankings and redefining the essence of one-day batting.
Just look at the three nations who have beaten them here - Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia. England recently beat the Pakistanis 4-0. Before Christmas they won 3-1 in Sri Lanka. Last summer they thrashed Australia 5-0, taking their sequence against them to 10 victories out of 11.
Even the most pessimistic English fan, anaesthetised by fiascos past, might not have backed them to lose all three. And yet, as sure as 'bowled 0' follows 'James Vince', that is precisely what has happened.
Deprived of the safety valve of the multi-match bilateral series, when a meltdown today can be put right by a pick-me-up tomorrow, England are playing as if they have been spooked by the one-off demands of tournament cricket. Frankly, they are in danger of choking.
The defeat by Pakistan stemmed from scrappy fielding, which often provides an insight into a team's state of mind. More specifically, it stemmed from Jason Roy's dropped catch to reprieve Mohammad Hafeez. That cost them 70 in runs alone; in psychological terms it was unquantifiable.
Eoin Morgan's men have lost three of their seven matches vs Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Jofra Archer can't hide his frustration during yet another England loss on Tuesday at Lord's
Wins over South Africa,
