England hang on in T20 World Cup but need to beat Sri Lanka
England’s T20 cricket side kept alive their hopes of progressing through to the final four of the World Cup yesterday with a 20-run victory over New Zealand in Brisbane.
Captain Jos Buttler impressed with the bat as England prevailed in a must-win match against the Black Caps to keep them in the competition.
Heading into the game England’s run rate was 0.5 ahead of Group One rivals Australia; after the win at the Brisbane Cricket Ground that figure has extended to 0.8.
It doesn’t mean England are through to the last four – far from it – but it means that they’re not out, for now at least.
Group One of the Super12 stage of the competition sees New Zealand, England and Australia now sit on five points – the Kiwis have a far superior run rate, 1.8 ahead of Buttler’s England.
The New Zealanders will book a spot in the final four if they beat Ireland on Friday.
Australia play Afghanistan on the same morning while England face former coach Chris Silverwood’s Sri Lanka on the Saturday. If both teams win it will come down to that crucial run rate.
So England did all they could and they are still in the game, but it remains a competition for qualification that is set to go down to the wire.
How did they do it?
England came out of the blocks firing with Buttler hitting 73 off 47 balls, while his opening partner Alex Hales contributed 52 from 40 balls.
Moeen Ali fell for five, Harry Brook for seven and Ben Stokes was toppled for eight, but a valuable 20 off 14 balls from Liam Livingstone helped England to a total of 179-6. Sam Curran and Dawid Malan finished on six and three not out respectively.
England looked like they had the upper hand when big-hitting Devon Conway fell for three before the end of the second over. His opening partner Finn Allen left the crease with 16 runs to his name.
Thereafter, however, New Zealand started to motor. Glenn Phillips’ 62 off 36 balls boosted the Black Caps’ run total significantly while captain Kane Williamson’s 40 runs in 40 balls was a steady presence in the chase.
But between Williamson – the third wicket to fall – and Phillips – the sixth – Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell went for six and three respectively.
New Zealand needed nearly 50 runs from the final three overs and despite a gallant effort from Mitchell Santner – who hit 16 off 10 – combined with Ish Sodhi’s six, the Black Caps fell 20 runs short.
Significantly, earlier wins for New Zealand against Sri Lanka and Australia have put the team from across the Tasman Sea in good stead, but now they’re into the dog fight with England and the hosts.
Any two of the three teams could yet qualify for the semi-finals – as could Sri Lanka if they beat England and other results go their way.
The other side of the T20
South Africa lead Group Two on five points with India and Bangladesh in behind on four. Zimbabwe sit one further point back ahead of Pakistan and a pointless Netherlands.
The Proteas have looked strong thus far and have combined strong bowling capabilities with a healthy middle order.
India overcame a scare against Pakistan but have since lost to South Africa.
It is finely poised in this year’s Cricket World Cup but for England, they’ve kept their hopes alive – just.