England's cricketers have been playing a different version of the one day game to the rest of the world for many years - a slower, duller and less successful one at that. Today it would be an understatement to say the penny finally seemed to have dropped.
At a humbling World Cup the side continued to go through the motions while exciting attacking line ups fielded by rival side put them well and truly to shame. We were happy to 'get 250 on the board' while most teams wanted to have reached that total with 10 or more overs left. Our batting was timid and our all round game hampered by poor plans based on out-of-date statistics.
The talk after the tournament - where we've had a welcome switch to red ball cricket - was of the need for a 'new era'. Long-term followers will have listened that and thought 'we've heard that one before'. It's easy to talk of change - no-one in sport ever talks of carrying on losing - but it's harder to match those words with actions.
The signs were promising as soon as the squad was selected - and there was a real will to see the likes of Hales, Roy and Rashid let loose at last alongside a smattering of other fresh names. The expectation was that this bunch could give the beaten World Cup finallists of New Zealand a decent game - and learn from them in the process.
It wouldn't be England if everything went smoothly and the loss of Jason Roy from the first ball brought the optimists crashing down to earth straight away.
But not to worry. The excellent Joe Root - sure to be England's star performer in all formats for years to come - swiftly went about keeping the faith of the watching public. With sumptuous stroke play and powerful hitting he rebuilt the innings with the help of captain Eoin Morgan.
Root is so good that he often gets touted as a possible captain but I'm more than happy that he continues without that particular crown of thorns for the time being. Morgan's knock - and later captaincy in the field - proved his worth at the helm. You always felt the Irishman would've been happier with a freer, more instinctive game plan anyway and so it proved.
But then came the setbacks. Wickets fell and at 202-6 the timid old England of the World Cup would've folded. Not so today. The brilliant Buttler and fearless Rashid simply took up the charge and powered Morgan's men on and on. Buttler's brute force, timing and invention was breathtaking and Rashid's bucaneering knock shouldn't be understimated either, helping to drive his partner on.
The icing on the cake came in some style courtesy of Liam Plunkett, who came in and smashed his first two balls for six apiece and saw the innings over the 400 mark.
The records tumbled - but the symbolism was even more important. We can mix it with the big boys after all.
New Zealand approached their impossible chase with admirable bravery. McCullum briefly threatened to inflict pain on Steven Finn but, buoyed by the aggression of the batsmen, the tall fast bowler shrugged off a couple of hefty blows, held his nerve and sent the Kiwis' talisman packing to begin a haul of 4-35.
The highlight of the bowling innings, though, came from Adil Rashid. The Yorkshire leg spinner has been talked about for so long and justified the faith to at last give him a go. He went through his full repertoire of deliveries and helped to tame the middle order with a fantastic 4-55. There's a real joy in watching a leg spinner in full flow and it was a delight to see this lesser-spotted art performed in and England shirt to such effect.
And, with that, England polished off New Zealand for 198, winning by a massive 212 run margin. At the World Cup 212 alone looked a struggle.
The important thing is not to get carried away. There will be days when batsman fail - indeed Roy and Billings didn't shine this time - and others when Rashid receives some 'treatment'. The magnificent manner of the victory in this match and the goodwill it will rightly earn deserves to secure patience from selectors and supporters. We won't get 400 every time but we have shown that aggression and positivity can pay off. Trevor Bayliss can simply burn a few copies of this performance and reach for his pipe and slippers for now. More of the same please...
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