England had to win this and by a spanking margin. That’s what they did to stay alive in the T20 World Cup match against Oman in North Sound in Antigua. The contest, if you call it one, was over in under 17 overs. England do not only remain in this competition. They are still among the favourites.
Oman is not obviously the most enviable opponents. But to shoot them out for 47 and then rattle those runs off a mere 3.1 overs took spunk. England showed it when they had to. Qualification for the Super Eight stage will still hinge on what happens here on, but England did what they could. It was done in a blitz sort of a manner and that’s what their potential rivals would worry about.
It was lock, stock and barrel when England’s bowlers started firing it around. There was no respite for Oman. True that the bowlers who delivered the first over (Reece Topley) did not get a wicket, but who bowled after him, reduced it to such a ridicule that the highest Oman batter got was 11. In a World Cup match, things of this level are not easily imagined. No matter the reputation and expat composition of the weaker teams.
Going by the scores, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid all struck gold. It was an act of decimation of a team low on pedigree, experience, calibre and everything else. The England bowlers still had to get a lot of things right. That’s what they did. The match was over in the first half. That’s what is expected of the bowling unit of a defending champion side.
The chase was never going to be important considering the meagre amount of runs on the board. The England batters were expected to smash it out of the Viv Richards Stadium. Some short work of it they did by getting 50/2 in 3.1 overs. You hit the ball out of the park all right, not with this kind of impunity. It showed that this team is alive and kicking.
This outcome keeps England very much in contention and makes their match against Namibia very important. But going by the way they hammered the wannabies from Oman, Namibia will anticipate a very fierce clash, against a rejuvenated side smelling blood. It’s only going to get exciting from this point in time.