North Sound (Antigua): England’s resounding eight-wicket win against Oman have kept them mathematically alive in the T20 World Cup and captain Jos Buttler is ready to give their best shot in the final group stage encounter against Namibia.
The defending champions crushed Oman at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound to register their first win of the tournament which kept them hopeful for the Super Eight stage.
Opting to bowl first, England bowlers repaid the faith of their captain as pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood bagged three wickets each while Adil Rashid stood out with the figures of 4-11 to all out Oman for 47 in 13.2 overs.
Buttler heaped praise on his bowlers for their exceptional efforts while stressing Rashid’s clinical spell.
“The tone was set very well by the bowlers by picking up those early wickets and restricting them to that total. We’ve got another big game in two days. I thought they bowled brilliantly. There was some extra bounce, thought they bowled really good lines and lengths,” the English skipper said in the post-match presentation.
“There was some spin, don’t think any of us expected the surface to play like it did. Adil bowled exceptionally well,” he added.
In reply, England batters were not in the mood to extend the game beyond powerplay as they reached the target in 19 balls to give a major boost to their Net Run Rate.
Buttler remained unbeaten on 24 off eight balls including a six and four fours while Jonny Bairstow returned not out on eight runs off just two balls to seize the victory.
“The message was to be ultra-positive. We spoke of taking our chances to boost our NRR. We know what’s going on in the dressing room, there’s huge confidence.
England not only have to win with an impressive margin against Namibia but also pray for Scotland’s defeat against Australia to end their campaign with five points and a better NRR than their neighbours.
When asked about the Scotland vs Australia game, Buttler said, “We can only focus on ourselves, we have a huge game up against Namibia and our focus is on that.”
In the Group B standings, England are placed third with three points in three matches while Australia stay at the top with six points in three games. They have sealed the Super Eight berth while second-placed Scotland have five points with a NRR of 2.164.
England will lock horns with Namibia at the same venue on Saturday, June 15.
–IANS