A win will bolster England’s chances for a spot in the semis and a loss could bring it down to a net run rate battle.
Who: England vs USA
What: ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights Group 2
When: Sunday, June 23, 10:30am local time (14:30 GMT)
Where: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
How: Follow Al Jazeera’s live coverage
USA will be playing for pride and hoping to register one last shock when they meet England in their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight clash in Barbados.
The debutants set the tournament alight with their win over Pakistan and won over fans by qualifying for the Super Eights, but their journey seems to be all but over with two losses in their two Group 2 games so far.
For England, it is a must-win situation as they look to hold on to their T20 World Cup crown. Jos Buttler’s side narrowly lost to South Africa in their second Super Eight game after beating hosts West Indies comfortably in the first one.
A loss against USA will not throw them out of the competition, but should West Indies beat South Africa in the later game, it could all come down to net run rate.
USA’s stand-in captain Aaron Jones believes his side have made inroads into American fans’ hearts and their performance will help build the game in the baseball-loving nation.
“When we first started the World Cup, a lot of people didn’t think that we would be here right now,” Jones said last week.
“[But] we always believed, even before the World Cup started, that we could beat any team in the world. And as I say, every time you put on your jersey and you go and play for your country, you want to win. So we want to win the game against England and finish well.”
HISTORY IN THE MAKING!!! 🇺🇸🔥🙌
For the first time ever, #TeamUSA have qualified for the Super 8 stage of the @ICC @T20WorldCup! 🤩✨
Congratulations, #TeamUSA! 🙌❤️ pic.twitter.com/tkquQhAVap
— USA Cricket (@usacricket) June 14, 2024
The Kensington Oval pitch has been one of the few high-scoring surfaces in the Caribbean during this tournament, but has offered ample support to both pace and spin bowlers.
Captains winning the toss have chosen to go with both options and being a day match, it is
The weather in Bridgetown will remain hot and humid all day, with a chance of a thunderstorm and brief showers shortly before the match.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides in any format of the game.
England seemed to have brushed off their group-stage loss against Australia with three straight wins over Oman, Namibia and West Indies, but they fell short against South Africa in their second group game. Buttler and his coaching staff are unlikely to be frazzled by the occasion.
USA started the tournament brightly with wins over Canada and Pakistan, but have suffered three losses in their last three games.
England: L W W W L
USA: L L L W W
England have not made too many changes to their playing XI during the tournament and are likely to field the side that played against South Africa.
Squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
USA will still be without their injured regular captain Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir could get yet another run in the side.
Squad: Monank Patel (captain), Aaron Jones, Shayan Jahangir, Andries Gous, Nitish Kumar, Steven Taylor, Harmeet Singh, Corey Anderson, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Jessy Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nosthush Kenjige.
Follow Al Jazeera English:
