Chris Jordan cherished a “special” day as his history-making hat-trick powered England into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in front of his nearest and dearest.
Jordan produced a remarkable performance as England breezed into the last four with a swaggering 10-wicket win over an outclassed United States, the paceman finishing the USA innings with four wickets in five balls including Ali Khan, Nosthush Kenjige and Saurabh Netravalkar off successive deliveries.
England’s first ever hat-trick in men’s T20s would have been a memorable moment at any time but for Jordan to do it in Barbados, where he was born and raised before leaving to pursue a career in his adopted country, added an extra poignancy.
When England began their title defence at the Kensington Oval earlier this month, pupils from his old school were given a day off classes to cheer on their predecessor, and this time the stands were packed by Jordan’s friends and loved ones.
“It was a good day, to get a hat-trick in the place I was born and played so much cricket, was a special one,” he said.
“My family doesn’t get to travel the world and watch me play a lot of international cricket so to do it in front of them and in a World Cup game to make sure we qualify is right up there.
“It was my mum, dad, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, the list goes on. My nephew is the one, he called me this morning and said ‘make sure you take three wickets today’. I looked up and he was jumping up at the end. One day it might be him doing the same thing.”
Jordan, and England, were a cut above their associate opponents as the co-hosts failed to muster a meaningful fight in their final outing of a breakthrough tournament.
The USA batters could barely lay a bat on Adil Rashid, who took two for 13 in four overs, and then saw their bowling attack dismantled by Jos Buttler.
The England skipper blazed seven sixes in a destructive 83 not out from 38 balls, finishing a chase of 116 in just 9.4 overs to make sure his side’s qualification could not be compromised by a swing in net run-rate.
For a side who came close to exiting the tournament in the first round when a downpour threatened a washout in their must-win game against Namibia, and also stumbled to defeat against South Africa just 48 hours ago, there was a tangible sense of freedom about England’s play.
Jordan admitted their brush with elimination had an impact and it is a mindset they may look to harness when they move to the knockout phase next week.
“When we left England a few weeks ago, we left to defend our title,” he said.
“There have been a few bumps in the road along the way but you can describe them as good bumps, because they narrowed down our focus and made our direction really clear. You can see that in the way we’re playing now.
“There’s a calmness in our dressing room. The scenarios we’ve found ourselves in, getting our run-rates up and dominating games, has given us some clear direction.
“Whoever we play in the semi-finals we have to dust ourselves down and go again. There’s a lot of cricket still to play.”
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