The all-round qualities of David Willey, batting at number nine and prodigiously swinging the new ball, got England out of jail as Afghanistan eventually succumbed to a 15-run defeat.
Eoin Morgan’s side were 85-7 in the 15th over when Willey took to the crease. Less than an hour later, the flashing blade and hooping ball of the 26-year-old had turned the game irretrievably in England’s favour.
A tenth wicket partnership alongside Moeen Ali, who top-scored with 41, took England to 142-9. Two Willey wickets – and an early snare for Chris Jordan - pegged the associate nation back to 13-3, a position from which they never recovered.
"I think we came here for a win and we won," said Morgan. "Ultimately, to dissect the performance, we will do so before playing Sri Lanka."
"They (Afghanistan) play a great band of cricket; if underperforming, you can come unstuck. We didn't adapt to the pitch - we didn't get that right.
"To get up to 143, Ali and Willey played really well. And I thought we fielded well and bowled well."
Danger-man Mohammad Shahzad became the first victim of Willey with the ball just three balls into the run-chase, trapped in front by the perfect in-swinger.
Asghar Stanikzai quickly followed, pouched by Joe Root at slip off Jordan. And, as Gulbadin Naib aimed to break the shackles by clubbing Willey over cover, the Afghan number four only succeeded in picking out the grateful hands of Stokes to depart for nought.
The introduction of Moeen's off-spin brought wicket number four in the eighth over as Rashid Khan (15) was caught by Morgan at cover, making the score 35-4.
And only four more runs had been added when Noor Ali (17) offered a simple return catch to Adil Rashid off the Yorkshire leg-spinner’s fifth delivery.
Afghanistan produced a lower order recovery of their own as Shafiqullah finishing with a flourish in striking 35 from 23 deliveries.
But, with Rashid collecting a second wicket, two run outs and a solitary late pole for Ben Stokes, the Afghans rarely threatened their target and closed on 127-9.
The introduction of Mohammad’s Nabi’s off-spin had earlier caused bedlam in England’s batting as three wickets fell in the final over of the powerplay, after Morgan had won the toss and elected to bat.
James Vince, replacing the injured Alex Hales at the top of the order, was caught and bowled for 22 to start the rot, closely followed by Morgan who was bowled leaving an arm-ball for a golden duck.
The run out of Joe Root left England 42-4, and Nabi was in the action again with a diving catch at cover to dismiss Jos Buttler for six, making the score 50-5.
The dismissals took a turn for the comical when Ben Stokes inside-edged a Rashid Khan long-hop onto his stumps for seven.
The 17-year-old leg-spinner added the wicket of Chris Jordan, caught and bowled for 15, to complete impressive figures of 2-17 from four overs and reduce the favourites to 85-7 with five overs to go.
The stakes were high for the lower echelons of England’s batting order as they aimed to recover under pressure in bowler friendly conditions.
After circumspect beginnings, Moeen Ali (39* off 31) and David Willey (20* off 16) unleashed the power hitting late in the innings that dragged them to a competitive total.
Moeen admitted that the unborken partnership of 54 hadn't been pretty. However, in the final reckoning, it's what kept England in the tournament.
"We wanted to give ourselves time, take it to the last three overs and have a hack at the end," he said. "It was about getting the job done against a good side. It was a tough game."
The 2015 season saw dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.