When the World Cup began, Liverpool had not yet been crowned champions of Europe, Rory Stewart still had a chance of being the next prime minister and the Love Island villa was not yet full of potential couples.
Now, after 45 games over 38 days, the 10 teams have been whittled down to four semi-finalists.
While England have been riding their own rollercoaster, the rest of the World Cup has seen immovable bails, a skirmish in a curry house, plenty of rain and a pop princess.
But who have been the winners and losers?
Best match
In a World Cup not blessed with tight finishes, New Zealand and West Indies served up a barely believable thriller on 22 June – one that was still undecided when Carlos Brathwaite sent the ball into the Old Trafford night.
Chasing 292, the Windies were all but beaten at 245-9, only for Brathwaite to begin a furious assault in the company of last man Oshane Thomas.
A century to his name and with six needed to win, Brathwaite bet the house. Launching the bowling of Jimmy Neesham towards long-on, the ball, and the match, hung up in the air. Six or out? Win or lose?
Trent Boult, tip-toeing round the boundary, clung on. Brathwaite sunk to his knees. New Zealand had won an incredible game.
Best player
Nods must go to Mitchell Starc, leading wicket-taker four years ago and on course for the same again, and Rohit Sharma, with his five centuries.
But for all-round excellence, Starc is pipped by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who almost single-handedly kept an unlikely semi-final bid alive to their penultimate game.
Shakib’s total of 606 runs is bettered only by India’s Rohit and Australia’s David Warner, and he has also added 11 wickets with his left-arm spin.
A megastar in Bangladesh, but far from a household name elsewhere, he would stroll into any other team.
Best innings
Do you prefer a classical concerto or heavy metal? There is no right or wrong answer; they both have their place.
If it’s the former, then stylish, composed centuries made by Babar Azam and Kane Williamson at Edgbaston are for you. Babar kept Pakistan’s World Cup alive with victory over New Zealand on 26 June, seven days after Black Caps skipper Williamson got his team home in a nipper against
South Africa.
At the opposite end of the batting scale, Eoin Morgan’s 17 sixes on a riotous afternoon at Old Trafford was part of an England total of 25 maximums against Afghanistan on 18 June. Both are one-day international records.
In a World Cup where batting abeen more difficult than anticipated, Morgan’s superb ball-striking had fielders straining their necks and spectators ducking for cover.
Best shot
Players such as Williamson prove that one-day cricket does not always have to be crash, bang or wallop. There is room for piano players alongside the piano movers.
In his aforementioned hundred against South Africa, Williamson’s New Zealand needed 12 to win from seven balls.
At that point, the temptation would have been to swing for the fences. Not for Williamson, who showed the touch of a surgeon to play the most delicate open-faced run to third man for four. It was breathtaking not only for its brilliance, but for having the thought and nerve to play it in the
first place.
Sure, the swept six in the next over made the match safe, but plenty can swipe the balls into the stands. Williamson is an artist.
