2000 (England, West Indies, Zimbabwe)
The first Natwest series never really caught the public's imagination, suffering from being made up of the three weakest one-day nations at the time. The finalists - England and Zimbabwe - were known with two of the preliminary matches still to play. Zimbabwe began the tournament with a real bang, and peaked too early, defeating England in the opening match at The Oval. They then produced their highest ever run-chase, 288, against West Indies at Chester-le-Street, in the best match the event. England, after starting slowly, improved steadily mainly through the emergence of Marcus Trescothick and supreme form of Alec Stewart, who made 408 runs and 81. Trescothick and Stewart secured England's first 10-wicket ODI win at Chester-le-Street, against West Indies, and Stewart was three runs way from three consecutive centuries when he fell for 97 in the final. West Indies never turned up and only gained a consolation win a Trent Bridge when Stewart lost the strike and England's tail lost the plot. Final England beat Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
2001 (England, Australia, Pakistan)
Another disappointing tournament highlighted the problem with a three-team tournament when one of them has a shocker. This time England were completely out of their depth against two well-drilled one-day teams and lost all six of their matches. But the tournament will be remember for the ugly crowd scenes, which began a Edgbaston in the first game with an pitch invasion, and ended with Michael Bevan being struck by a beer can, on the Lord's balcony, during the final presentation. On the field, England's selection was muddled - Alistair Brown began in the middle-order - and injuries began to hit the side, as if on cue, ahead of the Ashes. A fighting performance at Bristol, where they took Australia to the final over, was a false dawn and their capitulations and Old Trafford and The Oval were embarrassing. Pakistan inflicted Australia's single defeat, at Trent Bridge, and Waqar Younis produced a superb tournament with 17 wickets. But, as in the 1999 World Cup final, Pakistan's poor half turned up for the final, which was another mis-match. Final Australia beat Pakistan by 9 wickets.
2002 (England, India, Sri Lanka)
This tournament will be remembered for a stunning final, as India chased down England's 325, amid a frenzied atmosphere at Lord's. Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh led the Indian charge after Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain hit centuries. Hussain's was his first in ODIs and provoked a three-figured salute towards to press box, following criticism from some pundits about his suitability for the No. 3 position. The first meeting between England and India, also at Lord's, was another close encounter as India won with seven balls to spare. Sri Lanka, though, were poor and struggled without Muttiah Muralitharn who was sidelined with a shoulder injury. For England the top-order generally fired, but the problem was making best use of the closing overs, and the inability of the bowlers to restrict India's stroke makers. Surprisingly, Ronnie Irani was the pick of England's attack, consistently providing tight overs and his performances were a triumph for the solid county pro. Final India beat England by 2 wickets
2003 (England, South Africa, Zimbabwe)
England were in the process of the four-yearly World Cup watershed as Michael Vaughan led them for his second one-day tournament (following a 2-1 win over Pakistan in the Natwest Challenge). After their compulsory early defeat against Zimbabwe, at Trent Bridge, England made strides that even surprised Vaughan, let alone the supporters and media. They beat South Africa at The Oval, as Marcus Trescothick and Vikram Solanki put on 200 for the first-wicket, and again at Edgbaston to take a physiological advantage into the final. South Africa recovered from the early setback and progressed to the final on the back of a supreme run of form from Jacques Kallis, who made 329 runs at 109. Zimbabwe quickly sank from the heights of their win over England, but were unfortunate when rain washed out the game at Headingley when they were on top. England's success as built around the return of Darren Gough and a maturing Andrew Flintoff. The fielding also went up a few notches with the introduction of Rikki Clarke and Jim Troughton. But even with these improvements the final took everyone by surprise. England produced a near perfect bowling display as South Africa were demolished for 107 before Solanki sealed the win with an attractive half-century. Final England beat South Africa by 7 wickets
2004 (England, West Indies, New Zealand)
While England's Test fortunes were on a steep upward curve, the one-day side continued to stutter along, and went into reverse in this series. The tournament got off to a sodden start as the first two matches, at Old Trafford and Edgbaston, were washed-out. England's batting then imploded twice in two games as they slumped to the bottom of the table in embarrassing fashion. Admittedly they were hindered by the absence of Andrew Flintoff - and it took three players to make up for the loss of one - and his recall, against West Indies at Headingley, smacked of panic. But it worked as England sealed their only win of the tournament, as Michael Vaughan got away with playing just three front-line bowlers. Flintoff then single-handedly tried to propel England to the final, but his back-to-back centuries at Cardiff and Lord's could not prevent two more defeats. The match at Lord's, against West Indies, to decide the finalists to play New Zealand, also witnessed Andrew Strauss hit his first ODI ton. His stand of 226 with Flintoff was England highest in one-day cricket. But Chris Gayle smashed an equally stunning century, while Sarwan stoked an effortless 89. However, New Zealand's canny one-day cricket was too good in the final, as they comfortably defended 266, with Daniel Vettori taking 5 for 30, and became the first team to win the Natwest Series final by batting first. Final New Zealand beat West Indies by 107 runs.
