Scotland missed a chance of a shock T20 World Cup victory over defending champions England when the match at Kensington Oval in Barbados was abandoned due to rain.
With play halted for over two hours due to rain, the match was shortened to 10 overs per team, with Scotland setting England a target of 90. With an increased DLS, Jos Buttler’s team’s target was raised to 109.
Scotland openers George Manjhi (41) and Michael Jones (45) batted brilliantly and kept Scotland in the lead without losing a wicket.
However, rain repeatedly disrupted the match and there was no time for England to finish their comeback, so the match was abandoned just before 8pm BST, leaving both teams to wait for another chance to claim a point each in Group C.
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Mark Wood thought he had Scotland’s George Manjhi down but a no-ball took England’s first wicket of the day.
Scotland won despite the rain
Both teams were forced to wait nearly an hour for the match to begin as heavy rain began to fall after Scotland won the coin toss and elected to bat. The defending T20 World Cup champions will face Scotland for the first time in T20I cricket.
When the rain cleared to allow play to begin, fast bowler Mark Wood (0-11) was handed the ball and paired with fellow speedster Jofra Archer (0-12), who was playing for England in his hometown for the first time and recorded a fastball of 94mph early in the match.
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George Manzie hits a spectacular reverse sweep six for Scotland
It was a sloppy start for England, with fielding errors and missed chances hampering their performance, epitomised in the fifth over when Manjhi fired a ball high into the air and Buttler thought he had made a breakthrough when he caught it, but Wood overstepped and it was ruled a no-ball, leaving England desperate for wickets again.
England’s missteps and a difficult pitch allowed Manjhi and Jones to guide Scotland to 49 for nothing at the end of the powerplay. A six that smashed a solar panel in the sixth over and two fours from Chris Jordan (0-24) helped Scotland reach 51-0 after 6.2 overs before the match was suspended due to rain.
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Michael Jones’ emphatic six-pointer for Scotland against England destroyed the solar panels on the roof of Kensington Oval.
The match was shortened to 10 overs per team after rain had caused the match to be halted for over two hours, leaving Archer and Wood unable to bowl again under the revised conditions after having already bowled their two overs.
Adil Rashid (0-26) bore the brunt of that opening partnership, smashing two powerful sixes and a four to end any chance of a run-out with one innings remaining as Scotland took control.
Just as Scotland finished their innings by reaching 90 with a boundary and DLS raising England’s target to 109, rain started to fall again, this time under cover, meaning there was no chance of England completing even a five-over run chase.
The opening T20 World Cup match between England and Scotland was rain-delayed and in bleak conditions.
Butler: I was confident we could keep up with the score
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Coach Jos Buttler was disappointed that England’s T20 World Cup opening match was called off but felt they could have chased down Scotland’s run.
England captain Jos Buttler:
“We went into the game confident. Of course, they gave us a tough challenge. There’s no easy game, but we were confident.”
“It’s disappointing for both teams and for all the spectators.
“I think there were a few balls here and there that we needed to be firmer on, but overall, given the conditions, the stoppage and restart and the constraints we had when we came back, I thought we fought hard and were confident we could chase that score.”
On losing his wicket to a Wood no-ball: “Nobody’s going to make any mistakes, we all know that. We want to create an atmosphere. A no-ball wicket is disappointing but nobody’s more disappointed than Woody.”
“The response was good so we carried on.
“We wanted to start early and play a complete match, but this is the situation. Hopefully it won’t rain out for our next match and we can play in the tournament.”
What’s next?
India will take on Ireland in New York on Wednesday and the match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports from 3:30 pm.
England’s next match will be against Australia in Barbados on Saturday 8 June, which will be shown live on Sky Sports from 6pm. Scotland will then play Oman in Antigua on Sunday 9 June, which will also be shown live on Sky Sports from 6pm.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Live
Wednesday, June 5th, 3pm
You can watch every match of the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from now until June 29, with NOW streaming subscriptions available for free.
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