It's hard to tell which way Saim Ayub spins the ball, and so Jacob Bethell did what anyone might do in that situation; he had a wild sweep. On brand for the sort of evening he was enduring, it flew straight up to short fine, where Usman Tariq perched beneath it. He had to wait an eternity for the ball to arrive. Well, now he knows how the batters feel.
The ball plugged into the outside of his fingers, and there was, fittingly, a brief moment in which Tariq held onto it before ultimately letting it go, a sickening spill back on grass that had begun to pick up moisture.
Perhaps no one was better placed to know how Tariq felt than Bethell himself. In the game's second over, he had fumbled a straightforward punch from Ayub through point; it didn't cost England anything, but it was a warning call neither Bethell nor his teammates heeded. An over later, Bethell would muck up a routine stop at the boundary to gift Salman Agha four runs, and the horror only continued as he lazily let another one slip through his fingers on the rope to leak another four.
His captain Harry Brook helpfully revealed post-match that Bethell had warned against any fielding slip-ups. "Beth went to the group. He said, 'Look, lads, the atmosphere is no good tonight. Let's try and keep the intensity up and make sure our fielding is on point.'
"And unfortunately," Brook recapped cheerfully, "he misfielded a couple."
But it wasn't just Bethell, either. Brook, ultimately England's hero, was probably the game's only player on either side who emerged with his reputation enhanced. Right up until Jofra Archer unconvincingly whipped a Salman Mirza length delivery through a vacant midwicket boundary, England and Pakistan appeared locked in a contest to put as much distance as possible between them and the two points this game offered.
Until their win over Sri Lanka on the weekend, England and Pakistan were arguably the least impressive sides left in the competition, having combined to beat Netherlands, USA, Namibia, Nepal, Scotland and Italy to get to this stage - and rarely convincingly. And neither appeared particularly keen to make an argument to the contrary as they took turns to muddle their way through the first innings.
Ayub had already holed out before the kettle came to a boil, and Pakistan's captain Salman Agha, who appears to have decided that swapping batting positions is an adequate substitute for being a modern T20 player, managed to pick out the only boundary fielder in front of square at long-off. Adil Rashid, meanwhile, opened his spell with three long-hops and a wide, and somehow still conceded just six: Babar Azam's poor past record against him, allied to inveterate caution, meant he slipped seamlessly into his ingrained conservatism.
By the end of the 13th over, Pakistan - yet to breach the seven-an-over mark - were yet to hit their first six. It was just the third time in Pakistan's World Cup history they have needed to wait that long to clear the ropes. Babar had by now made his way back for 25 off 24, a jab at Jamie Overton connecting with fresh air as the ball hit the top of off
Not that England weren't lending Pakistan a helping hand. By now, their sloppiness in the field had allowed at least eight extra runs. Five balls earlier, they apparently forgot to place at least four fielders in the circle, and so threw a bonus free-hit Pakistan's way, only for Fakhar to swipe at thin air. The over still only went for seven runs, but it was sandwiched by two from Will Jacks which leaked a combined total of 27. Though he remains England's best player of the tournament, his introduction looked to have belatedly launched Pakistan towards the postcode of a par score.
Even Liam Dawson, the pick of England's bowlers, saw his job complicated when the first ball of his final over burst through Brook's hands. It was a rare misstep from the England captain, but it went for four. Never mind, though, as Usman Khan, an ostensibly excellent player of spin, politely offered up another chance, miscuing a flighted delivery down long-on's throat. Run-out opportunities went begging and direct hits flew askew as Pakistan staggered to 164, a total at once far higher than they deserved, but much lower than an elite side might have ensured England needed to chase after that showing in the field. And we were, in every sense of the word, only halfway there.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, perhaps in the worst form of his career, had lost his place in the side before this match, but struck first ball as Phil Salt swung lustily at a ball tailing away. A beleaguered Jos Buttler followed him to a harmless delivery he tried to cut unconvincingly before Bethell - having been reprieved by Tariq's shocker - found another fielder to slog his wicket away to. This time it was Pakistan's best player on current form, and Sahibzada Farhan clung on at deep midwicket, arms aloft in surprise as much as triumph.
But Pakistan hadn't clocked the danger creeping up on them. The steady trickle of wickets belied the speed with which England, or more accurately Brook, were biting chunks out of a modest target, and hacking down the required rate. Despite Afridi's 3 for 13 in three Powerplay overs, England were already seven runs ahead of Pakistan by the time the field was allowed to spread out. Brook had just bludgeoned Mohammad Nawaz for 17 in his opening over, speeding along to post 41 of England's 53 runs.
But England continued to oblige. Much was made of Tom Banton being the only Englishman to have faced Tariq, but off the stuttering spinner's first delivery, he aimed a hack past point and nicked off to the keeper. There were still 23 Usman Tariq balls left, and England were already four down.
Pakistan continued to be complacent. Afridi mystifyingly let the final ball of Shadab's second over spin up and dance through his hands on the bounce, running away for four. Until then, Shadab had conceded 10 runs in 11 balls. In his following over, Brook plundered him for another 17 as the leggie listlessly alternated between flighting it into Brook's arc and dragging it down. Eleven overs in, and England were suddenly a whopping 26 runs ahead of Pakistan, the asking rate a mere shave over seven.
Tariq had bowled just the one over; it is not the first time Agha has been guilty of squirelling away a primary bowler's allocation to a point when they no longer remain relevant. Against India, Tariq was not called upon until Ishan Kishan's destructive innings had come and gone, and memorably in the Asia Cup final, three Haris Rauf overs were hoarded up for the death and then deployed in his least effective phase, on a pitch where India had stalled against spin.
England contentedly knocked about Tariq's next two overs for 12, Brook parking his ego and getting his runs in twos. Not that Agha was trying particularly hard to stop them; between overs 13-18, England helped themselves to seven twos, the highest for any side in that phase all tournament. Brook alone took nine through his innings; only one individual knock this tournament has produced more.
But it was a game that Brook, and only Brook, appeared to be trying to win. By the time Afridi finally nailed a yorker to the base of his stumps, England required a meagre 10 in three overs to seal victory. But in the absence of their talisman, the England whose flounderings had necessitated Brook's promotion made one last appearance. They would first timidly block out a Mirza over before Jacks found a way to be cleaned up by a dragdown from Nawaz. In a panic unjustified by the still-secure match situation, Jamie Overton skipped down the track to gift Usman a stumping. Incredibly, it left Pakistan two wickets from victory, with the previous 13 deliveries producing three wickets for six runs.
Even now, it was only Pakistan's slow over-rate that finally forced Agha into bringing a fielder up as they mounted a final defence. But by now, the total had become indefensible. The same, in truth, could be said of plenty of performances on both sides.