England lost the plot midway through this match – but got their act together just in time to record their third straight win and take the series. After a handy start, the middle order batted carelessly before the wise old head of Nasser Hussain made his way to the middle. He was held back to No. 7 because he'd earlier been off the field with a calf injury. Zimbabwe were 19 for 3, then 56 for 4. When Andy Flower started counter-attacking, it looked as if he was annoyed by his team-mates' ineptitude. It was magical and magnificent, but no-one seemed likely to stay with him for long enough for it to matter much. And then England somehow managed to mislay the script.

Dion Ebrahim and Doug Marillier hung around, in what seemed to be an exercise in restoring respectability. But Heath Streak did much more than that, muscling 56 despite his pulled leg muscle and helping Flower add 130 for the seventh wicket, a world one-day record.

England had blown a great position, most spectacularly when the wicketkeeper James Foster thought – with good reason – that he'd caught Flower off an attempted glide at Paul Collingwood. It didn't help that the same combination thought they'd dismissed Flower earlier as well. There followed what is usually called "a frank exchange of views", which frankly went on too long.

Flower, who had to put up with far worse from the South Africans during his marathon batting performance in the recent Test at Harare, was giving as good as he got. "Let's stop talking and get on with playing cricket" (in a Zimbabwean accent) was one of the saner lines uncovered by the stump mike. It looked as if a lot of other fragrant phrases had to be left on the cutting-room floor.

Nasser Hussain might have done something about it, but he was off the field having treatment on that leg injury. Marcus Trescothick, the acting captain, might have done something too, but he seemed to have forgotten who was in charge and stayed out of it on the boundary.

Colonel Naushad Ali, the match referee, is not likely to be so indulgent – especially after England have made plain their displeasure at his public misgivings about James Kirtley's action. If the Colonel decides to court-martial Foster then Trescothick might have a closer view of Andy Flower in the next match - he's England's rather unlikely reserve wicketkeeper on this trip.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.

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