Cricket World Cup 2023: England's golden era may be ending but don't forget the memories

So here it ends, 37 days after it began.

After a zigzagging tour across eight Indian cities, from Ahmedabad's burning heat to the Mumbai sweatbox to Dharamsala's Himalayan beauty, England's World Cup campaign concludes on Saturday in India's far east with a meeting against Pakistan in Kolkata.

They began with high hopes, attempting to do what no men's side has done since the great Australia in defending a World Cup title, but will leave beaten after a torrid six weeks.

Anger at the performances in a miserable run of consecutive defeats by Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, and debate over the reasons behind it has subsided.

The last week has been a sad and slow stay of execution, even with victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Eight of the squad that remains in India played in the 2019 World Cup win. Another three played in the build-up to that tournament, while 11 of the 15 are aged over 30.

Rob Key, the managing director of England men's cricket, has arrived back in India to plot the way forward with coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler.

The trio will have the ODI futures of many in their hands.

But if this is the end of an era, and England's own vice-captain has said it should be, then let's take a moment to appreciate the ride.

This is a team that changed what it meant to watch England in white-ball cricket across eight years from the low of that embarrassing World Cup exit in 2015.

Their title defence has been shambolic but there will always be that day at Lord's - tears on the field, in the stands and among the sternest of pundits and journalists in the media centre as England beat New Zealand to win the 50-over World Cup for the first time.

There will always be that night in Melbourne last year and the 10-wicket romp against India that preceded it in Adelaide, as England secured the T20 title to become double world champions.

Fans will never forget the semi-final thrashing of Australia at Edgbaston in 2019, perhaps their most complete one-day international performance, including Jason Roy's three sixes in a row over Steve Smith.

The first was chipped over mid-on, the second flat and fast before an enormous blow that shocked even Roy and produced a Birmingham roar loud enough to be heard in Brisbane.

Roy, barrel-chested and strutting, took on a part of every England fan in repaying Smith for all that Ashes pain.

During England's golden run they hit three record ODI totals - twice on riotous days at Trent Bridge where Pakistan then Australia were put to the sword, before they went on a European roadshow to smash 498-4 in the Netherlands.

Way back in 2015 they hit 408-9 against New Zealand in the first completed match of the revolution.

That day a group of fresh-faced 20-somethings had little idea what was coming down the road they were setting out on.

Some key players have already gone, former captain Eoin Morgan and opener Roy most notably, while others flickered only briefly, like Tom Curran, who took 5-35 to secure a dramatic victory in Perth.

England chased 224 in 32.1 overs to beat Australia in the 2019 World Cup semi-final

The core, though, has stayed the same and they ensured the era of England being white-ball whipping boys, the technophobe dad unable to keep up with the modern world, was no more.

England set a standard for the world to follow.

Australia were swatted aside in a 5-0 clean sweep in 2018. The fifth win was sealed at Old Trafford, another day in the sun where Jos Buttler single-handedly secured a one-wicket victory with one of the great ODI centuries.

The next year in Grenada, Buttler switched from attack-marmaliser to GIF generator when he saluted the saluting Sheldon Cottrell after one huge six in a 77-ball 150 against West Indies that took England over 400 again.

Somewhere on the road between 2019 glory and their travails around India, England lost that spark and swagger.

England's first record score was 444-3 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge

It is apt the final rites come in Kolkata, the site of the previous lowest ebb of this era.

It was on this famous ground that Carlos Brathwaite broke English hearts with his four consecutive sixes to win the 2016 T20 World Cup and leave Ben Stokes a numb shell crouched in the middle.

Stokes was tight-lipped on his ODI future when asked shortly after his century against the Netherlands but Saturday could be his final 50-over game.

Moeen Ali has indicated he would be happy to step aside for younger players, while, as the second-oldest player at 36 behind Moeen, Dawid Malan is another whose place will come under scrutiny despite a stronger World Cup than most of his team-mates. There are even suggestions Joe Root should step aside.

"It could be the last game of cricket for England for me and it could still be the start of another journey," Malan said on Friday.

Any talk of a revamp comes with the caveat of England having last month handed out central contracts to every member of this squad, bar David Willey.

There is also a T20 World Cup in June next year, at which England should select their strongest team for another title defence rather than treat it as a way of looking to the future.

England's next white-ball matches are in the Caribbean in December. Buttler has indicated he wants to stay as captain for the tour, which includes three ODIs and five T20s.

If England do twist then the likes of Zak Crawley, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed and Phil Salt could be charged with kicking off another new era, just as Morgan, Buttler, Stokes, Root and co did eight years ago.

If this is the end, be sad that it is over, be angry too if you like - but don't forget to say thank you for the memories.