Under leaden skies and with rain misting in the wind, England's World Cup dream was ripped to shreds by India at Edgbaston yesterday. Facing the task of scoring a further 160 runs from a fraction under 30 overs and with seven wickets in hand, Alec Stewart's team were sent sliding by a combination of intelligent Indian seam bowling on a capricious pitch, some mesmerising wrist spin and a brace of lbw decisions from our old friend Javed Akhtar (whose index finger was aired so frequently last summer that he must have needed to dip it in sunblock).

All out for 169 two deliveries into the 46th over, England had been beaten by 63 runs, sending Indian supporters everywhere delirious. At the centre of England's demise was a failure to take toll of the singular weakness in India's attack: the absence of a front-line fifth bowler.

Instead, Saurav Ganguly was allowed to send down eight overs for 27 runs and the three wickets of Nasser Hussain - out, perhaps decisively, just before rain curtailed play on Saturday - Neil Fairbrother and Mark Ealham. Those figures, together with his 40 in the Indian innings, brought him the man-of-the-match award.

It was a desperate demise by an England side who, in the wake of Zimbabwe's memorable win over South Africa, were aware that only a win (or no further play at all) would suffice if they were to make progress.

Play had been halted on Saturday at 73 for three with Hussain, his concentration wavering immediately after the umpires had consulted about the dim light, having dragged Ganguly on to his stumps. Both Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick had earlier fallen victim to the wide-eyed, tangle-footed swing bowler Debashish Mohanty.

English hopes rested squarely on the two left-handers, Graham Thorpe and Fairbrother. A partnership from them and, perhaps, the Indian balloon could be pricked. But the pitch - which had shown pace, bounce and movement on the first day in any case - had been sweating under the Brumbrella all night, and that, combined with the overcast conditions and the aerobatic qualities of the white Duke ball, was certain to make life difficult.

The Indian breakthrough in the third over was highly controversial, however. Javagal Srinath, bowling around the wicket from wide on the return crease, won an lbw decision from Akhtar when all the evidence - geometric and visual - was that the ball was slanting significantly down the leg side.

It was a shocker and a body blow, because Thorpe's 36, containing seven boundaries - three of them in one over from Mohanty - represented the only signs of a genuine riposte. It also proved to be the top score for England.

Narked was not the word for it and Akhtar's decision precipitated a procession of wickets as the required run rate began to exceed manageable proportions.

Andy Flintoff produced a brief rustic innings, including a blacksmith's smear for six off Kumble, but was then lbw - dubiously once again; he seemed to get a thin edge on to his back leg - in the same over.

Then, in quick succession, Adam Hollioake was also leg before to Kumble (unarguably this time, as he was hit on the back leg sweeping), Ealham dabbed Ganguly gently to a solitary slip and Fairbrother - having faced 62 balls for his 29 runs - edged to the wicket-keeper. England had slumped to 132 for eight and were all but out for the count.

Once more it had been a sad response by the batsmen to an excellent performance by the England bowlers, who were faced with the most successful batsmen - Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and the genius Sachin Tendulkar - in the tournament.

At one time, with Ganguly and Dravid going like trains and early trouble against the new ball (Mullally made the opener Ramesh look a novice before snaring him at slip) diminishing under the morning sun, a total of around 300 was not an impossibility.

Instead, led by Ealham, a one-day bowler of great skill and authority, India were pegged back; Tendulkar was caught on the square-leg boundary for 22 and Dravid alone went on to reach a half-century.

Only a late flourish from the Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who passed 9,000 runs in one-day internationals during his 26, and an incisive 39 in 30 balls from Ajay Jadeja, gave India what should have been anything like a defendable total.

Although, bizarrely, England have been eliminated even before the official World Cup song has been released, the tournament will continue to gain momentum, for while interest from England supporters may wane now, there is scant evidence that there was a great deal there in the first place, and that it is other supporters who have provided what carnival feel there has been. Few England fans bothered to make the trip to Edgbaston yesterday, while the switchboard had been deluged with Indians wanting to buy fresh tickets for the day.

They were not permitted: had they been, the place would have been full. And so it and the other grounds will be again. Today in Northampton, for example, Pakistan play Bangladesh in their final group match and it promises to be an occasion the like of which has never before been seen at Wantage Road. And hang on to your hats when Pakistan and India meet in their Super Six match at Old Trafford on June 8th.

Any tickets that have remained unsold will be snapped up well before the first of the nine matches begins at the Oval on Friday where India will probably play Australia. The following day Trent Bridge sees what many will regard as a dress rehearsal for the final when the South African machine comes up against Pakistan's flair. There is some stuff to be played yet.

Gone England may be, but the party is only just warming up.