Sound the klaxon – we’ve got a MUST-WIN contest on our hands. The equation is simple. Loser goes home. Winner stays on with a shot at the semis to come.

England should win it, really. They’re fresh from posting a monster total against Australia (sure they lost, but that doesn’t mean their score of 351-8 wasn’t sizeable). And Afghanistan, despite all their advances in recent years, were pretty poor against South Africa, stumbling to a 107-run loss in their opening game.

The cricket, of course, is just one strand to today’s narrative. This fixture has been wrapped up in political tension ever since there were calls for England to boycott the game in response to the gender apartheid taking place in Afghanistan. Those calls were rejected and the show goes on.

England’s former No. 3 stalwart and now Afghanistan’s coach, Jonathan Trott, has defended his players, but they need to do their bit with bat and ball. Can they turn controversy into rocket fuel? Or will England roar back to set up a showdown with South Africa on Saturday?

We’ll find out when things get going at 9am UK time, 1pm in Lahore.

Toss, teams and further updates to follow.

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