England, for the first time in this ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, put in a solid all-round performance with both bat and ball, and the result of that performance was a comfortable win over Scotland in Christchurch.
Having been smashed out of the park, literally and figuratively, by Australia and New Zealand in their first two World Cup games, England needed a win, preferably an authoritative one. On Monday, on a bright day in Christchurch, England did just that, with Moeen Ali leading the way with a smashing hundred.
Ali's century gave England the chance to make a big score for the first time at this World Cup, with Eoin Morgan also scoring a few, much to his and England's delight. England, having been put into bat, thanks to that century from Ali (128, 107b, 12x4, 5x6), a half-century from Ian Bell (54, 85b, 2x4) and a quickfire 46 (42b, 4x4, 2x6) from Morgan, eventually finished their first innings on "could have been better, but will take it" 303/8 in 50 overs.
Putting up a score of over 300 is hardly a guarantee of winning the game against an Associate side, as West Indies found out so scathingly against Ireland, and therefore England needed a sound bowling performance as well.
They got just that with their bowlers, led by Steven Finn (9-3-26-3), and Ali (10-0-47-2) again, coming to the fore to nullify Scotland's hopes of rocking the chase.
Scotland came into this match knowing they were playing a team seriously short of confidence, but in the end, the quality of England shone through, as the neighbours were shot out for 184 in 42.2 overs.
A huge sense of relief will be the overwhelming feeling for England after this match, because it was a performance they absolutely needed and a win that had to come if they harboured hopes of going longer than the pool stages in this World Cup.
Scotland put up a valiant bowling effort against New Zealand, giving the favourites a scare while chasing a small total, but once England put on a score well beyond 300, it was always going to be a tough task for the Scots, especially after their below-par batting effort against the Black Caps.
Only opener Kyle Coetzer (71, 84b, 11x4) really put in a score of note for Scotland, and it was a pretty good knock too. Had he been given more support at the other end, the match might have at least been a contest, but it was not to be as England cruised to their first World Cup 2015 win.
Get the Full Scorecard of the match HERE
