Job done.
That was captain Jos Buttler’s assessment of England’s emphatic win over Oman in Antigua on Thursday, which boosted their net run-rate and gave momentum to the defence of their T20 World Cup title.
The job went so well that, in fact, they were able to go home early.
England’s net run rate after their big win over Oman was higher than Scotland’s.
With the match finishing in just 16.3 overs, England had crushed Oman for 47 in 13.2 overs and then needed just 19 balls to reach the target of 48, finishing with a net run rate higher than Scotland’s.
Admittedly, they weren’t facing the strongest opposition – Oman were rated the 19th best team in the world in T20I matches – but England were once again ruthless.
Gone are the no-ball wickets, the string of fielding errors and bizarre decisions that marred the first two matches – a rain-spoiled match against Scotland and a 36-run defeat to Australia.
Their only defensive mistake was when Moeen Ali was dropped at slip off a Jofra Archer delivery, but they still only conceded one run after rested batsman Zeeshan Maqsood was quickly dismissed by Mark Wood.
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Mark Wood took three wickets against Oman in Antigua, including his 50th wicket in T20 international matches.
No attempt was made to employ part-time off-spinner Will Jacks in the powerplay – a move that backfired badly against Australia, with Jacks’ only over limited to 22. Oman were exposed to the pace attack of Archer and Wood and were then overwhelmed by Adil Rashid, with the latter taking 4 for 11 in four excellent overs.
There was then no waiting with the bat as Phil Salt got back for six off the first two balls and Buttler biffed five boundaries in an over, and it was perhaps only the wickets of Salt and Jacks that took the chase to four overs.
Job done. Well, half the job is done.
Namibia should be overwhelmed and could be at a major disadvantage having been bowled out by Australia for 72. England will need to get better with consecutive wins and produce another ruthless performance to ensure they get game time if they are to progress to the Super Eights.
England need to beat Namibia in Antigua on Saturday or go home, but after their big win over Oman, any victory will almost certainly be enough, as long as Scotland lose to Australia in St Lucia.
How will Australia approach the match against Scotland?
The net points score is in England’s favour but what about Australia’s morale?
Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood spoke about the possibility of his country attempting a slow chase to beat Buttler’s team, before England swamped Scotland on net run rate, saying it was in “their best interests” to eliminate the favourites.
“I thought it was a strange thing to say and maybe a bit flippant, but I think it’s overstated. If you start messing up your cricket, it can come back to bite you later. Australia will want to perform at their best against Scotland and keep the momentum going.”
However, net run rate is no longer a major concern for England and there seems little chance that Hazlewood’s side will deliberately lose in a bid to ruin their long-time rivals.
Yes, it’s in Australian cricketers’ DNA to want England to suffer, but it’s also in their DNA to want to win at all costs. There have been plenty of examples of this in the past…
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Jonny Bairstow was controversially beaten by Alex Carey at Lord’s on the final day of the second Ashes Test last summer.
In that case, Australia’s opposite end cheating would probably go undetected; if it was, captain Mitchell Marsh could face a two-match suspension. Pat Cummins insisted Hazlewood’s comments were a joke and that Australia would never seriously consider manipulating the outcome of a match. “I think we do our best every time and if we don’t then it’s probably against the spirit of cricket.”
However, there may be changes to Australia’s setup as Scotland will be tempted to rest players and assess the strength of their reserves ahead of the Super Eights, with Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Ashton Agar all likely to be given opportunities as they have yet to play in the tournament.
“I haven’t spoken to the selectors or anyone else so I don’t know what they’re thinking,” added Seamar Cummins. [about rotation] But I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Before the tournament started, we knew that in ideal circumstances, almost all of our players would be able to play.”
Scotland will qualify for the T20 World Cup Super 8 if they beat Australia in St Lucia.
Scotland will be looking to catch some new faces from the Australian squad in order to beat England and reach the knockout stages.
It would be enough for Scotland to have either of their final two Group B games cancelled, but with the weather forecast for Antigua and St Lucia currently looking fine, this is their best chance of progressing.
England’s dominance over Oman means they can progress to the second round, but no team will want to face them in the next round after their ruthless performance against Oman in the semi-final.
Buttler’s team will be hoping for another win, this time against Namibia, and that Australia can show similar ruthlessness against Scotland.
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Sky Sports Cricket’s Ian Ward believes Josh Hazlewood was “joking” when he suggested it would be in Australia’s “best interests” for England to exit the tournament at the group stage.
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Phil Salt made an explosive start to England’s run chase against Oman but was run out off the third ball.
What’s next?
England They will face Namibia in Antigua on Saturday at 6pm (UK & Ireland time). Scottish The final leg of Group B will see the match against Australia kick off at 1.30am on Sunday in St Lucia.
You can watch every T20 World Cup match live on Sky Sports, including the final in Barbados on Saturday, June 29.
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