BARBADOS — England are likely to secure their passage to the semi-finals of this T20 World Cup with victory by any margin against the US on Sunday despite losing to South Africa in their second Super Eight match in St Lucia on Friday.

Jos Buttler’s team are still in prime position to reach the last four even after their seven-run defeat by the Proteas after the West Indies hammered the US by chasing down a target of 129 in just 10.5 overs in Barbados on Friday night.

It’s a result that makes the co-hosts’ match against South Africa in Antigua on Sunday a virtual quarter-final given the Windies have now overtaken everyone else in the group on net run rate – the decider when teams are level on points in the Super Eights.

Whoever loses that match is likely be out. For the West Indies, who lost to England in St Lucia last Wednesday, the equation is simple – win and they will be through to the last four. Lose and they are out unless England suffer a shock defeat by the US.

As it stands, South Africa are top of Group Two in the Super Eights having extended their 100 per cent record in the tournament by beating the US and England.

But remarkably a team who have become synonymous with choking at major tournaments down the years would likely be eliminated if they lose on Sunday despite having won all six games so far at this T20 World Cup.

That’s because the West Indies’ nine-wicket battering of the US took their net run rate to 1.814 ­– well above the Proteas’ 0.625.

England are third in the group but with a net run rate of 0.412 it is likely they would overtake South Africa ahead of their group decider against the Windies if they beat the US.

England’s dominant eight-wicket win against the Windies with 15 balls to spare on Wednesday gave them wiggle room to get away with a narrow loss against South Africa. Now it means as long as they beat the Americans in Barbados on Sunday – and it’s not a nail-biter that goes to the final over – they should be through.

How to watch England vs US

• Venue: Kensington Oval, Barbados.
• Time: 3.30pm UK.
• TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 3pm.

Probable teams

England: JC Buttler (wicketkeeper/captain) PD Salt, JM Bairstow, MM Ali, HC Brook, LS Livingstone, SM Curran, JC Archer, AU Rashid, MA Wood, RJW Topley.

US: SR Taylor, AGS Gous (wicketkeeper), NR Kumar, A Jones (captain), CJ Anderson, M Kumar, H Singh, SC van Schalkwyk, NP Kenjige, MAA Khan, SN Netravalkar.

Umpires: C Gaffaney (New Zealand), J Wilson (West Indies).

TV umpire: P Reiffel (Australia).

Weather: 31 degrees, sunny with showers.

Another win for the Proteas on Sunday would guarantee England’s progress with any win. Even a point from a washout would be enough for Buttler’s defending champions in that scenario – and with rain forecast for Barbados on Sunday that’s something that could happen.

England, whose first-round group campaign was complicated by that Barbados rain-induced no result against Scotland in their opener, will be relying on a South Africa win on Sunday if their game against the US ends in a washout.

England hammered Namibia and Oman, who like the US are associate nations, in the first round to scrape through to the Super Eights on net run rate. Buttler, superb behind the stumps in St Lucia on Friday, said: “The bigger picture is net run rate. But we’ve just got to win the [US] game. We haven’t played the US before so it’ll be a good challenge and we’re looking forward to it.

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“The games come thick and fast now so we’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again. We’ve had a great win against the West Indies, a great game against South Africa which was a shame not to win but we’re still in it and looking ahead to the next one.”

Assuming the weather behaves and we get a game on Sunday, England’s performances in their last two games have been a noticeable step up from the ragged 36-run defeat in their key first-round match against Australia, which was also in Barbados.

But the US will not be a complete walkover. In captain Aaron Jones, a batter born in Queens, New York City, but who has played for Barbados, they have a player who has hit the most sixes in the tournament behind only West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran.

Mumbai-born left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkarhas also been one of the stars of the tournament, taking six wickets at 17.33 at an economy rate of 6.17.

Both starred in the co-hosts’ shock first-round win against Pakistan in Dallas, a result that lit up the tournament and proves that on any given day the Americans are capable of taking down a major Test nation.

Their defeat by South Africa in their Super Eight opener was also a close-run thing – the margin 18 runs but only because the US stalled at the end of their run chase.

Victory for England cannot be guaranteed. But the signs are that if they can get past a team who only played their first T20 international five years ago they should be set for the semi-finals, where either Australia or India would be the likely opponents.