T20 World Cup 2024: England eye dominant show to stay in Super Eight contention

Defending champion England will be eager to brush aside Namibia ruthlessly here on Saturday and stay relevant in the race to the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage.

England was living on the edge after a washout against Scotland and a loss against Australia, but the Jos Buttler-led side turned it around in style with an eight-wicket win over Oman.

After bundling out Oman for 47, England raced past the target in just 3.1 overs, a record margin of 101 balls to spare.

The result has also done wonders to England’s Ne Run Rate (NRR), the crucial separating factor between it and Scotland in Group B. The Three Lions’ NRR leapt from -1.8 to +3.08, going past Scotland’s +2.16.

ALSO READ | Afghanistan brushes aside Papua New Guinea to book Super Eight spot

However, Scotland has five points to England’s three. Hence, the former two-time champion will need to defeat Namibia to go equal with Scotland and then hope that the latter will lose to Australia, which has already qualified for the Super Eight.

In that scenario, England will enter Super Eight with better NRR, but an upset win over Australia by Scotland or a washout at Gros Islet will eliminate Buttler and his wards.

But skipper Buttler sounded confident after their massive win over Oman.

“I’ve been around long enough to know how it works,” Buttler said after their win over Oman. “We know what’s going on in the dressing room. We have lots of confidence in our team and we have another huge match to come,” he added.

The pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here has offered steep bounce and turn.

England bowlers such as leg-spinner Adil Rashid (4/11) and the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, who claimed identical figures of 3/12, exploited it to their advantage while bowling out Oman for its lowest over T20I total of 47 – the overall fourth-lowest in the T20 World Cup.

Buttler will hope to win the toss again to unleash his bowlers against the inexperienced Namibia who had folded for 72 in their last match against Australia.