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England did their best to keep their World Cup hopes alive with a ruthless win over Oman that massively boosted net run rate and catapulted them to within sight of the next round.
Stung by criticism after a poor first week at the World Cup, England’s eight-wicket victory was so rapid it was the quickest in World Cup history, sealed with 101 balls to spare and they coasted past Scotland’s run rate in the process. If England beat Namibia on Saturday in their final group game and Scotland lose to Australia, they will go through.
England revived their World Cup defence with their first win of the tournament, which was done and dusted long before the sun set on a hot Antiguan afternoon after they bowled out Oman for just 47. It meant England needed to reach their target within 32 balls to ensure a better run rate than Scotland.
Phil Salt hit the first two balls of the innings for six before he was bowled with the third. Jos Buttler ended a complete mismatch with 24 from eight as England raced to their target in 19 balls; the match was over within just over 90 minutes of play.
SIX, SIX, OUT ❌
Eventful first three balls of England’s innings 👀 pic.twitter.com/vMnh86UtEh
England now need to deal with Namibia in similar style in Antigua on Saturday to go level on five points with Scotland. They will then head back to their beachside hotel to watch events in St Lucia later that night hoping there is not a major upset when Australia play Scotland. The only other risk is if either game is washed out, a share of the points with Australia would nose Scotland ahead of England.
“Job done today and we’ve got another big game in two days’ time. I thought we bowled brilliantly and were really challenging on that surface. With the bat we just wanted to be ultra-positive,” said Buttler.
It silenced talk of Australia and Scotland cooking up a result to knock England out. Tim Paine, their former Test captain, urged them to manipulate the game and allow Scotland to get close to winning without losing after earlier Josh Hazlewood had suggested it would be in their “best interests” to ensure England go out. Australia are likely to rest players but have not lost to an associate since 1983 and their captain, Mitchell Marsh, could be banned if they deliberately let Scotland go through. A proud team like Australia is not going to be that desperate to see England go home early.
Oman, ranked 18th in the world are the weakest team in Group B and defeat to them for England would have ranked as one of the great World Cup giant killings. Oman deserved respect. They managed 125 against Australia and reduced them to 50 for three at one stage but were just blown away by England’s three pace bowlers. Reece Topley came in for Chris Jordan and gave the attack a better balance bowling his first two overs for four runs while Mark Wood and Jofra Archer reduced Oman to 25 for four.
Just the start England would’ve wanted 🏴
Mark Wood gets England’s third wicket in the powerplay 💪 pic.twitter.com/Lls3MEcjqZ
They never recovered, and were bundled out for 47 in 13.2 overs, the second lowest T20 score against England. Pace and wrist spin was just too much for the Oman part-timers, made up mainly of south Asian ex-pat cricketers who are never exposed to this level of bowling outside of World Cups.
Only one batsman – Shoaib Khan – reached double figures and Oman managed just five boundaries in their innings. Adil Rashid helped himself to four for 11, the batsmen totally bemused by his googly. Archer and Wood matched each other’s figures, three for 12, and the pace was too much. “Jofra and Mark Wood are the fastest bowlers in cricket and being an associate player you don’t face bowlers bowling 150kph plus and in the back of your mind they might hit you and you might not see the ball. Anything is possible,” said Oman captain Aqib Ilyas.
The absence of Jordan did weaken an already shaky fielding team and there was more sloppiness that needs addressing if they survive in the tournament and face better opposition. Moeen Ali dropped a sitter at slip and Liam Livingstone dived over a stop at cover summing up the lacklustre nature of England’s outfielding..
Wood struggled in the first two matches going wicketless and spent a decent chunk of England’s training session the day before this game walking round the outfield and chatting with David Young, the sport’s psychologist.
Despite his ebullient personality, Wood can be hard on himself and sometimes needs a lift. The chat with Young and the complete inability of Oman to cope with his pace, a couple were backing away, was just the tonic he needed.
Buttler wisely bowled his best bowlers through, ensuring a quick kill. Rashid took two wickets with his googly, Archer’s pace and bounce was too much and brought him three wickets, all catches off cross batted shots, and Wood settled himself by striking first ball and never looked back.
England play Namibia on Saturday, with a 6pm start time. Then Australia meet Scotland in the early hours of Monday morning, the match that will almost certainly decide who goes through to the Super 8s.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to report that the weather forecast looks pretty good for both games.
Job done today and we’ve got another big game in two days’ time. I thought we bowled brilliantly and were really challenging on that surface. With the bat we just wanted to be ultra-positive.
[Have you been surprised how quickly people have written England off?] Not really. I’ve been around long enough to know how it works. It’s fine, that’s part of your job, I don’t mind. We know what’s going in the dressing-room. We have lots of confidence in our team and we have another huge game to come against Namibia. All our focus now is on that.
It was spinning quite a bit so I tried to go a bit wider with the wrong’un and sliders, set them up that way. We’re very happy with how we bowled as a team.
We’ve got Namibia next. Our job is to go out there, do our thing and let everything else fall into place.
England’s net run-rate is now superior to Scotland’s, so it is no longer a factor in who qualifies from Group B.
It’s quite simple: if England beat Namibia and Australia beat Scotland, England will go through to the Super 8s.
If either game is rained off, or Namibia or Scotland win, England are out.
OVER 3.1: ENG 50/2 (Buttler 24 Bairstow 8) Bairstow pulls Fayyaz Butt for four to complete an extraordinary victory. England needed just 19 balls to reach their target, which means they’ve won with 101 deliveries to spare.
What a performance from England 🤩
They defeat Oman by eight wickets and in just 3.1 overs 😱 pic.twitter.com/TKSCFliFe0
Buttler takes England to the cusp of victory by smashing a six and four fours from Bilal’s second over! This has been a savage performance from England. All that hot air about net run-rate, and they’ve put it to bed with two games still to play.
Bairstow slaps his first ball over the covers for four. This is a perfect situation for him; he’s at his best as an opener anyway.
Jacks c Prajapati b Kaleemullah 5 Another low scored for Will Jacks. He lashed Kaleemullah over mid-off for four at the start of the over, but that was as good as it goes. He was beaten twice and then top-edged a cut stroke to deep point. FOW: 20/2
Will Jacks changes the tempo by defending his first ball, then he and Buttler take a single apiece. England need 34 from 114 balls.
SIX, SIX, OUT ❌
Eventful first three balls of England's innings 👀 pic.twitter.com/vMnh86UtEh
Salt b Bilal 12 A uniquely selfless innings from Phil Salt, who falls for 12… from three balls! He carved Bilal Khan over extra cover for successive sixes, then dragged a pull onto his stumps. You don’t get many valuable three-ball innings, but I guess that qualifies. FOW: 12/1
12 (3) 😍
And England want to be off it as soon as possible.
If England win inside 5.2 overs their NRR will go above Scotland’s. In short, it’s almost certainly no longer an issue – but England still need to beat Namibia and hope Scotland lose to Australia. A washout in either game, or a shock win, and they are gone.
That might be the first time England have taken all ten wickets in an innings through wristspin and proper pace. Adil Rashid took 4/11 and Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both finished with 3/12. They were brilliant and brutal.
Perfect from England .. Ruthless .. Scotland might just have to beat the Aussies 😜👍
Shoaib c Buttler b Archer 11 Archer bounces out Shoaib Khan to complete a merciless bowling performance from England, who now have the chance to push their net run-rate above Scotland’s. FOW: 47 all out
Bilal slog-sweeps his first ball, and Rashid’s last, on the bounce to deep square leg. Rashid ends a charming, mischievous spell with figures of 4-0-11-4.
Kaleemullah b Rashid 5 Another lovely googly from Rashid brings his fourth wicket. Kaleemullah pushed tentatively, unsure which way it was spinning, and inside-edged it onto the stumps. FOW: 47/9
The No10 Kaleemullah clears his front leg and clubs Wood through mid-off for four. Shot! He misses a roundhouse pull at the next ball and whacks the ground in irritation, then top-edges over slip for a single.
Shoaib Khan takes a single off the last ball to become the first player to reach double figures.
Just too good from Rashid 🧙
Straight through Fayyaz Butt's defences 💫
🇴🇲 3️⃣6️⃣-8️⃣#EnglandCricket | #ENGvOMA pic.twitter.com/ZDES8MvRKN
At least the difference between England and an ICC Associate Member has been apparent on this occasion. In their game against Scotland the teams were almost indistinguishable.
Fayyaz b Rashid 2 Adil Rashid is having loads of fun out there. He toys with Fayyaz Butt before putting him out of his misery with a perfect googly that rips through the gate to hit the stumps. England have sorted their net run-rate problem in the space of 11 overs. FOW: 36/8
England continue to show precisely no mercy, bringing back Archer to replace Wood. Shoaib winces after being hit on the glove by an unpleasant lifter, and it’s all he can do to play out a maiden from Archer.
Archer appealed for caught behind off the last ball but nobody else was interested.
Fayyaz hits Rashid in the air and just wide of Jacks at extra cover. I don’t think he saw the ball.
Mehran c Ali b Rashid 0 Another one gone! Mehran tries to drive a flighted legbreak and edges to slip, where Moeen Ali takes a good catch to his right. That was lovely, tempting bowling from Rashid. England – England – are running riot with raw pace and wrist spin. FOW: 33/7
On Saturday, Mark Wood’s first over went for 22. Today he has figures of 2-0-3-3.
Ayaan b Wood 1 Pace is Kryptonite for the emerging nations, especially when the pitch has a bit of zing. Mark Wood has three wickets tonight and 50 in T20 internationals. Ayaan Khan pushed at a 93mph delivery with no foot movement and dragged the ball back onto the stumps. FOW: 32/6
Shoaib Khan cuts for four and is beaten by a gorgeous leg-break from Rashid. This is a really good pitch.
Kail st Rashid b Buttler 1 And now Adil Rashid strikes first ball! It was a strange dismissal, a belated stumping by Jos Buttler. Kail missed a slog sweep and wedged his back foot on – but crucially not behind – the line. Buttler missed with his first attempt to take the bails off but had time to try again. Kail must have thought he was safe. FOW: 25/5
That was the last ball of the over.
Prajapati c Livingstone b Wood 9 This is very good from England, who are bullying Oman with their pace bowlers. Prajapati scuffs an attempted pull to short midwicket to give Wood two wickets in his first over; it’s been a perfect Powerplay for England. FOW: 25/4
Maqsood ct and b Wood 1 Mark Wood strikes first ball! Maqsood popped a leading edge back down the pitch, which allowed Wood to take a tumbling catch in his follow through. So far, so good for England. FOW: 24/3
Just the start England would've wanted 🏴
Mark Wood gets England's third wicket in the powerplay 💪 pic.twitter.com/Lls3MEcjqZ
The wind is blowing quite strongly across the ground, which is open on both sides square of the wicket where there are grassy banks rather than stands. The wind is blowing towards the longer boundary which is quite a big hit. The pitch is two across from where Australia thumped Namibia the other night and looks to have a bit of pace which is unusual for this stadium.
Topley bowls his third over, a bespoke tactic for a bespoke problem. Maqsood chips not far short of midwicket – and then, out of nothing, Prajapati lashes Topley over backward point for six! It’s a very short boundary but that’s still an eye-catching stroke, especially after he had laboured to 3 off 10 balls.
Fears about England’s fielding coming true already. Moeen drops an absolute cuckoo off Archer at first slip and Livingstone dives over one at cover conceding a single at the start of Topley’s next over. They really do not look like a top notch team.
Dropped him! The new batsman Maqsood edges a very full ball from Archer to first slip, where Moeen puts down a simple low chance. Oh, Mo.
Incidentally I thought it was pace and bounce that undid Ilyas earlier in the over but on the replay it looked like a cutter from Archer. Either way he has 2/12 from two overs.
Aqib Ilyas c Jacks b Archer 8 Two wickets in two overs for Jofra Archer. Again it was pace and bounce that forced the error, with Ilyas mistiming a cut towards backward point. Jacks took a slightly awkward low catch at the second attempt, so the umpires double-checked that the ball carried cleanly. It did and Oman are two down. FOW: 16/2
Great signs once again from Jofra Archer: his form has perhaps been England’s biggest positive from a tricky start to the T20 World Cup. While the first priority is winning this game, given the net run rate situation England might benefit from using Archer aggressively: not holding back two overs for the death, and being willing to use up his full allocation earlier in the innings.
Another tight over from Topley; three from it this time. Prajapati got off the mark from his seventh delivery with a mistimed ramp stroke; Ilyas, who looks more confident, slog-swept confidently for a single to keep the strike.
The Oman captain Aqib Ilyas is beaten first up by a sizzling bouncer, then shows his class with a fine cut for four. A mixed over from Archer: a wicket and 10 runs.
Athavale c Salt b Archer 5 Jofra Archer strikes with his second legal delivery. Athavale, who had flailed the previous ball between cover and mid-off for four, tried a similar shot but was undone by the extra bounce. He could only screw the ball towards short cover, where Salt took a smart low catch. FOW: 6/1
Reece Topley finds some swing and bounce in an excellent first over that includes five dot balls to Prajapati. England will be encouraged by how well the ball is coming onto the bat, especially after their struggles at the death in Barbados.
It has to be said, yet again. It is such a shame that international cricket is no longer staged at the Antigua Recreation Ground in the capital of St John’s. The out-of-town stadium in Antigua just doesn’t draw crowds … or offer the infrastructure and transport to bring them in.
One thing is guaranteed tonight: England won’t be opening the bowling with two offspinners. In boxing parlance, they want to get Oman out of there as soon as possible.
Pretty limp response from Matthew Mott to the Australians suggesting they might cook up a result with Scotland to knock England out. Obviously Mott is an Australian and knows the players well but it does give the impression of a soft environment behind the scenes and that Mott is too nice for the big job.
He is a good coach, and this is a crucial 48 hours for him but you do wonder about the leadership of this white-ball side. It lacks the clarity, cutting edge and that strength of character the England teams had when they did well under Michael Vaughan, Andy Flower, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes.
Nice weather today so should be ok for rain. A few clouds around but don’t anticipate any problems. Good news on Topley, right call to replace Jordan but it does weaken the fielding considerably. There are a few donkeys grazing in the long grassy fields behind the press box which one ‘wag’ described as the England team. Bowling first is good news. Knock ‘em, knock off the runs and keep the flame alive.
England make one very predictable change, with Reece Topley replacing Chris Jordan. They’ve picked an attack to bully Oman.
England Salt, Buttler (c/wk), Jacks, Bairstow, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Archer, Rashid, Wood, Topley.
Oman Pratik Athavale (wk), Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kali, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan.
“Looks a really good wicket,” says Jos Buttler, “but we’d like to know how many runs we’re chasing.”
And then his mic cuts out. The Oman captain Aqib Ilyas Sulehri says they would have bowled as well.
Four of our cricket writers have chosen the team they think can turn England’s World Cup campaign round. You probably won’t be surprised to read that all four have Reece Topley in the team.
Read more…
The net run-rate situation isn’t as bad as it looks. If England win both games by, say, 60 runs, I’m pretty sure they will qualify if Australia beat Scotland by any margin. I still think rain is the biggest threat to England.
It’s… mixed, with a chance of showers later in the day. The first innings should be fine, though that’s no good to England unless at least five overs of the second innings are bowled.
It should be okay. Should.
T20 is supposed to be a simple game, but England’s World Cup defence has become unpleasantly complicated. Their chances of reaching the Super 8s, and avoiding more World Cup embarrassment, rest on two matches and six different opponents: Oman, Namibia, Australia, Scotland, net run-rate and the Antigua weather.
One false move – a washout, an unspoken carve-up between Australia and Scotland, even a damagingly narrow win over Oman or Namibia – and England’s era of white-ball brilliance will be over. But if they sneak through, the slate will be clean and it will feel like 2022 all over again.
England’s task tonight is to marmalise Oman and give their run-rate a good old jumpstart. The likelihood is that if England win both games and Australia beat Scotland, there will be a sufficient swing for England to qualify. But there are all kinds of reasons why that might not happen.
Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott are probably fighting for their jobs, which is difficult to reconcile with the fact England have lost only one game at this tournament. It’s true they didn’t play well against Australia, or in the washout against Scotland, and the decision to omit Reece Topley against the Aussies gets worse by the day. But they’ve still only lost one game, so to compare this with their 50-over nightmare in India last year feels premature.
“I don’t think it’s s— or bust quite yet,” said Buttler. “I think it’s quite clear what we need to do and how we need to play. First and foremost, we need to win the game against Oman to have any chance going forward into the next one. So we have to earn the right to try and win the game. And if we can get ourselves in a position to affect our net run-rate, obviously that’s what we need to do.”
The match begins at 8pm. Weather permitting.
