- author, Matthew Henry
- role, BBC sports reporter in Antigua
Former England bowler Stephen Finn said England “really stepped up” in their ruthless victory over Oman, which has put England back in contention for a place in the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup.
England knew another loss would end their title defence but they dispatched Oman for 47 in 3.1 overs in Antigua to complete their title defence.
The big increase in net run rate means England will almost certainly progress if they beat Navia in their final group match on Saturday and Australia beat Scotland later in the day.
“From the moment Jos Buttler came on and won the toss it was perfect,” Finn told BBC Test Match Special.
“England really showed their strength.”
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid took 4-11 and pace bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood each took 4-12 as England dismissed Oman in 13.2 overs.
England reached the target in 19 balls, setting a new record for the fastest chase in a T20 World Cup match and providing an ideal response to their defeat to Australia in Barbados on Saturday.
“When England won the toss and batted first, or even when Oman were 16 for 2, I don’t think they expected to get Oman out for 47,” said Finn, who won 126 caps for England across all formats.
“It just shows the power England have, but it’s just a step in the right direction.”
England needed to finish their chase within 33 balls to beat Scotland in net percentage, with Phil Salt scoring sixes off the first two balls.
Though they were out off the third ball, captain Buttler scored 24 off eight balls while Jonny Bairstow scored four off just two balls.
Buttler said the result was “just what we needed” after losing their opening match to Scotland and then Australia.
“It was a really great performance,” he said.
“We’ve been having really good training sessions and we’ve been talking about the need to stay true to ourselves and believe that we have really good players.
“We spoke about needing to win both games of cricket and if we have any chance of making an impact on the net run rate then that will be important.”
“We’re still in the same position and we’ve got a must-win game on Saturday.”
