England have it all to do when they take on the United States in their final Super Eight T20 World Cup match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday afternoon.
It is still anybody’s ball game in Group 2, with all four teams still in the running to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition which gets underway on Thursday.
Match preview
© Imago
Few would have had the United States down as a team to reach the Super Eight, but they have been a joy to behold in this competition and their performance to this point suggests that they are one to watch in the coming years.
Indeed, the tournament co-hosts can still reach the final four, though it will require them to win this match by a huge margin, while also needing a massive slice of luck in the South Africa vs West Indies matchup.
After finishing second in their group, the US have found it difficult against the Test-playing nations in the second round. They conceded back-to-back defeats against South Africa and the West Indies in the last two games.
Still, if the US have shown anything in this competition, it has been character, and it would be foolish to think that they will enter this contest with any other intention than to try and dispatch the English bowling attack to all parts.
Regardless of the outcome here, the hosts can be proud of their performance and will also look back fondly on their incredible super over victory against cricketing powerhouse Pakistan in their second match of the competition.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, England find themselves in almost the exact same position as they were in the first phase of the competition, staring elimination in the face, heading into their final match of the group.
England are currently level on two points with the Windies but are well behind on net run rate. England’s NRR is currently +0.412 while the West Indies are on +1.814 ahead of their final fixture.
That means England will need to win this match by a big margin to overtake the other host nation, alternatively, they will need the Proteas to do them a huge favour and beat the West Indies, thus making any victory in this match enough to qualify for the semi-final.
The Three Lions beat the West Indies in their first match of the Super Eight but came up seven runs short of the Proteas on Friday, despite Harry Brook scoring an impressive 53 off just 37 balls.
Despite the position they are in, you can never completely write off the defending champions, and Jos Buttler and co will enter this match with the objective of wrapping things up early before the nervous wait for the match between the group leaders on Monday starts.
Team News
US opener Andries Gous notched up another 29 runs against the West Indies last time out and is now up to second place in the leading run-scorer standings with 211. Only he and Nicholas Pooran have accumulated more than 200 runs in the competition to date.
Aaron Jones rounds out the top 10 run-scorers in the competition with 152 and also has the second-highest individual score of 94*. Harmeet Singh was the only player to take a wicket against the Windies and will be key the the USA’s chances of containing England in this match.
Phil Salt has carried his excellent Indian Premier League form into the T20 World Cup and is up to eighth place in the leading run-scorer standings, current on 158 in five innings, with a strike rate north of 170.
The major disappointment for England in this tournament has been the relatively poor performances of their bowling unit. Jofra Archer notched three wickets in the loss to South Africa, but the likes of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali have struggled to find the same type of joy as some of their counterparts.
USA squad: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
Series so far
United States
Match One: USA won by 7 wickets
Canada – 194/5 (20)
USA – 197/3 (17.4)
Match Two: USA won the super over by 5 runs
Pakistan – 159/7 & 13/1
USA – 159/3 & 18/1
Match Three: USA lost by 7 wickets
USA – 110/8 (20)
India – 111/3 (18.2)
Match Four: No Result
Match Five: USA lost by 18 runs
South Africa – 194/4 (20)
USA – 176/6 (20)
Match Six: United States lost by 9 wickets
USA – 128 (19.5)
West indies – 130/1 (10.5)
England
Match One: No Result
Match Two: England lost by 36 runs
Australia – 201/7 (20)
England – 165/6 (20)
Match Three: England won by eight wickets
Oman – 47 (13.2)
England – 50/2 (3.1)
Match Four: England won by 41 runs (DLS method)
England – 122/8 (10)
Namibia – 84/3 (10)
Match Five: England won by 8 wickets
West Indies – 180/4 (20)
England – 181/2 (17.3)
Match Six: England lost by 7 runs
South Africa – 163/6 (20)
England – 156/6 (20)
We say: England to win
The USA have won the hearts of many neutrals in this competition and they will come out guns blazing here, as they can still mathematically qualify for the semi-final.
However, despite England’s uninspiring form at this tournament, they are still one of the best sides in the world and we feel they will secure a comfortable victory here before turning their attention to the crucial battle of the group leaders on Monday.
