At Karachi, March 3. Pakistan won by seven wickets. Toss: England.

This was England's third successive defeat in the tournament against Test opponents; only victories over the two Associates guaranteed them a quarter-final place. Briefly, it did look as if their luck had changed. Atherton batted on a flat pitch (already used by Pakistan against South Africa) and finally rediscovered his form. Together with his third opening partner, Robin Smith, now recovered from a groin strain, he ran up 147 in 28 overs, England's best for any wicket against Pakistan in limited-overs internationals. But once Smith lofted a catch to long-off, they went into decline: Hick and Atherton followed in the next three overs and no one offered real support to Thorpe. Pakistan's strike bowlers, expensive under the opening assault, returned with a vengeance after Aamir Sohail and�Salim Malik had broken through; Mushtaq Ahmed claimed three in successive overs. The final target was a round 250. Openers Sohail and�Saeed Anwar were soon up with the rate, raising 81 in 16 overs, but all the home batsmen made healthy contributions. Most warmly received was 38-year-old Javed Miandad, opening his account in his sixth World Cup; earlier, he had led the team out in what was expected to be his last big game before his own Karachi crowd.

Man of the Match:�Aamir Sohail.

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