Sri Lanka Sink England, Pakistan Get First Win and More from Day 16

The last time Australia and New Zealand hosted a World Cup, back in 1992, England and Pakistan were the finalists.

If history is to repeat itself in 2015, both countries are going to have to improve. And improve by some margin, too.

England—who now have two points from four games at the tournament—will certainly not be in a rush to return to Wellington in the near future. 

Having already been crushed by New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium, they suffered a second defeat at the venue when Sri Lanka chased down a target of 310 with ease.

Unbeaten centuries from Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara saw the Sri Lankans home with just the nine wickets and 16 balls to spare, meaning Joe Root's knock of 121 ended up being in a losing cause.

Pakistan did manage a win on Sunday, though they were made to work for it by Zimbabwe in Brisbane.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq top-scored with 73 as Pakistan—well beaten by India and West Indies in their previous outings—posted 235 for seven.

Zimbabwe looked on course for victory until Brendan Taylor fell for an even 50. They slipped from 128 for three to 168 for eight and were eventually bowled out for 215.

Shot of the day

Root produced a shot of pure cheek when he used the reverse sweep to get Thisara Perera away for four.

He then proceeded to repeat the trick to the very next ball, the only difference being that the second attempt came out of the middle, rather than off an edge. 

With third man up inside the circle, the ball was timed well enough to go all the way over the boundary rope for one of Root’s two maximums during his innings.

Perera paid a dear price for opting to come around the wicket to the right-handed Yorkshireman, the angle making it easier to work the ball to a vacant area in the deep. 

The tactic proved a costly one—the bowler ended up conceding 25 runs from the over.

Mind you, Sri Lanka hit plenty of impressive shots in their successful chase. Take a look at Tillakaratne Dilshan's pulled six off Stuart Broad:

"

If there's a better sight in cricket than watching Stuart Broad get hooked for six... https://t.co/KBxIF5DEZ3

— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) March 1, 2015"

Delivery of the day

Pakistan players would not expect to be undone by spin, but Sean Williams proved far too good for Shahid Afridi.

The left-arm spinner bowled Umar Akmal with a delivery that turned to beat the bat—then sent down one even better two balls later to flummox Afridi.

The Pakistan all-rounder failed to get far enough forward to smother the spin, allowing the delivery to grip and go past his outside edge and onto the stumps.

Afridi looked rather baffled by the dismissal, looking down the pitch to captain Misbah-ul-Haq in the hope he would offer an explanation of what happened.

What did actually happen was he made a mess of defending his wicket. Williams, though, deserves credit for bamboozling a player who has appeared in nearly 400 ODI matches.

Catch of the day

Pakistan skipper Misbah had plenty to ponder going into the match against Zimbabwe.

He also had plenty of time to do some thinking while he was waiting to pouch a skied drive by Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza.

The ball went high into the Brisbane sky and Misbah did exceptionally well to judge the opportunity. It was up for that long he could have called a team meeting while waiting for it to fall.

He took it falling backwards but still managed to hold on. It was one of those chances that, as a cricket player at any level, you always hope ends up going to one of your colleagues.

And the winner for the worst review ever goes to…

Sri Lanka decided to refer an lbw shout against Root after he had been hit on the knee by a full toss from Suranga Lakmal.

The phrase “wouldn’t have hit another set” is often used, but in this case it is a perfect description. 

Hit in the pocket

As if the review wasn't a low enough moment for Lakmal, the seamer was taken out of the attack in the closing stages of England's innings after bowling a second beamer.

The ICC announced in a press release after the game that he had been fined, with match referee David Boon revealing that "there was no remorse from the bowler" for his actions.

Monday at the World Cup

Monday happens to be a day of rest for the tournament.

We should all take a breather after a hectic weekend and reconvene on Tuesday, when South Africa take on Ireland at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.