Jonny Bairstow's scintillating century leads England past Pakistan as they march on towards Cricket World Cup

England (359-4) beat Pakistan (358-9) by six wickets: The Pakistan total never looked like posing a serious threat the moment Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow set about the new ball

Bairstow's knock saw England home with ease (Getty Images)

No, stop it. Honestly. This is getting silly now. On a bright, chilly evening at the County Ground in Bristol, England continued to warp and blur the boundaries of their own expectations, polishing off the fifth-highest run chase in one-day international history with the same casual, measured insouciance with which you or I might make a sandwich.

A Pakistan total of 358 never really looked like posing a serious threat from the moment Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow set about the new ball with bats that may as well have been meat cleavers. And even if the pace slowed a touch as they neared their target, England’s relentless march towards the World Cup continues at full pelt, the only real areas of concern the form of David Willey and Joe Denly.

Certainly there remain a few qualms about just how easy it is to score big totals against this England side. Imam-ul-Haq’s brilliant 151 off 131 balls was a sophisticated hit-job that was well supported by Haris Sohail and Asif Ali. And despite the short boundaries, the easy-paced pitch and the absences of Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid, there were times when England’s attack looked painfully bereft of options.

Equally, though, it’s worth asking: who cares? In the last two years, no team in world cricket has conceded more 300-plus scores than England’s 13. The really remarkable statistic, though, is that England have still managed to win 10 of those games. In an arms race, they will back themselves every time. In a way, their ethos is very much an adaptation of Kevin Keegan’s 1990s Newcastle side: you score 358, we’ll score 359.

Bairstow’s scintillating 128 – his seventh ODI century in his last 33 innings – was the highlight of the piece, with Jason Roy’s 76 helping him to an opening stand of 159 that pretty much put the game to bed within 17 overs. Then came Joe Root with a quick 43, then Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali after him, then Eoin Morgan to finish the job, and the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Jos Buttler wasn’t even playing. On flat pitches with short straight boundaries, there’s not a batting line-up in world cricket who can touch them.

Perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of all this – their eighth successful 300-plus chase in the Trevor Bayliss era – is just how desensitised we’ve become to all this. Even at the interval, following Imam’s assault, England still remarkably felt like favourites. Roy and Bairstow teeing off felt like the most natural thing in the world. Moeen pumping Shaheen Afridi for 16 in an over felt entirely in keeping. These are giddy times for Team England, and with just two full ODIs and a couple of warm-ups before they bring the curtain up on the World Cup, they seem refreshingly laid-back for a team with such responsibility.

Still, let’s try and pick a few holes nonetheless. With Archer at home putting his feet up – a sign that he is virtually guaranteed a spot in the final 15 – attention turned to the shoot-out for the remaining places. Chris Woakes was the pick of the bunch, using the early nip to claim two wickets with the new ball and two more later on. Tom Curran was next best, bowling a tight line with good variation, claiming a nifty run out with his feet and generally advancing his case.

Willey will be more worried. He bowled a touch too full with the new ball, a touch too short later on, and though he was operating during the most dangerous phases of the innings, a haul of 1-86 was evidence of a worrying inconsistency this close to showtime. Were he a right-arm bowler, he would be extremely vulnerable. As it is, his left-arm angle and ability to swing the ball give him a fighting chance against Liam Plunkett, who bowled with tidy aggression in the middle overs.

Roy's partnership with Bairstow set England on their way to victory (Getty Images)

Denly, meanwhile, resolutely failed to nail down his place. Playing instead of Rashid as a second spinner, he enjoyed a remarkably undistinguished game, failing to get a turn in bat and bowling just a single over. This went for nine runs, consisted mostly of full tosses, and in hauling him out of the attack immediately it was hard not to feel that Morgan was offering his own quietly damning verdict on Denly’s pedigree. If he does make it into the 15, he’ll need to plunder some runs, and fast.

The roadshow moves to Trent Bridge on Friday, another venue that promises little respite for an ailing Pakistan attack. And while some might wish to see them tested in the sort of trickier conditions they may face later in the tournament, perhaps that’s the usual English scepticism creeping in. For when England put on a show like this, perhaps the only real reaction is to sit back and enjoy it.