England qualified for the Super Eight stage of the World Cup but only after several heart-stopping moments as Scotland threatened a famous win over Australia.
England did their bit by beating Namibia between the rain showers in Antigua, but could only watch on from their hotel late last night as spirited Scotland put up a major fight against Australia, who had not lost to an associate for 40 years.
Australia rested Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood and dropped six catches as Scotland set them 181 to win in St Lucia. At one stage they were wobbling at 60 for three but Scotland would rue dropping Travis Head on 15.
Scotland were favourites as Australia plodded to 92 off 13 overs but had wickets in hand. Head got them going with three sixes in a row and in his 68 from 49 and Marcus Stoinis also hit the accelerator with a brutal 59 from 29. The hard work was done by the time they were out and Australia won by five wickets in the final over with two balls to spare.
It sent England through and denied Scotland a famous win but they stretched Australia far more than England managed to do and will feel unlucky not to have progressed further.
Australia had talked up the possibility of manipulating the result to send England packing but in the end they were given a scare by a determined Scotland team.
It must have been a long day for England captain Jos Buttler who endured agonies praying for a break in the rain which finally came with only 46 minutes left on the clock before the match would have been abandoned and England out.
Eventually England beat Namibia by 41 runs via the DLS method but it was then almost midnight before the result from St Lucia filtered through and Buttler could finally plan for the Super Eights where they will play West Indies, South Africa and the United States.
It had looked for hours that England would be eliminated by the Caribbean rainy season. A wash out would have put them on four points, one behind Scotland, and flying home cursing their luck at losing two group matches to the weather.
Instead England survived the randomness of a 10 over shootout despite wobbling against the new ball with the bat and not taking a genuine wicket until the end of the ninth over.
The match was three hours late starting, getting underway at 4pm. The teams had to be on the field by 4.46pm otherwise Scotland qualified thanks to driving rain more suited to the Cairngorms than the Caribbean.
The delays trimmed it down to 11 overs, another quick shower in the England innings dropped it by another over to 10.
The Yorkshire life ring of Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook kept England afloat; their fifty stand repairing the wobbles against the swinging new ball that accounted for both openers including Buttler for a four ball duck.
England made 122 for four thanks to Brook’s 47 off 20 and Bairstow 31 from 18, the pair putting on 56 off 30, and with the score readjusted by the DLS equation, Namibia were set an impossible 127 from just 60 balls.
Against Reece Topley and Jofra Archer in good bowling conditions that was a tough ask, but they gave it a go. Namibia took a calculated risk as one of their own batsmen, Nikolaas Davin, retired out on 44-1 from six overs to bring veteran allrounder David Wiese in with 82 needed off four overs. He swung hard in his final international appearance but Namibia fell short on 84 for three.
England made two changes leaving out Mark Wood and Will Jacks. Wood took three for 12 while scaring Oman to death but was left out for Chris Jordan, while Jacks was dropped and Sam Curran drafted in for his first game of the World Cup. Jacks has scored five and 10 at the World Cup, sacrificing his wicket for fast runs in the Oman chase to improve net run rate and came to the West Indies on the back of a good IPL with hopes of establishing his place as an England regular.
Curran bats at the top of the order in the IPL, can hit sixes from ball one and offers swing which was useful on a muggy day in Antigua. Jacks will worry he will only be remembered at this World Cup for bowling a 22 run powerplay over against Australia.
England would have wanted to bowl first in such juicy conditions and try and rout Namibia’s batting which was dismissed for 78 by Australia earlier in the week but Buttler lost a crucial toss.
Veteran seamer Wiese bowled two overs for just six as England tried to gauge the pitch, dismissing Phil Salt with a knuckleball while giant left-armer Ruben Trumpelmann bowled Buttler with an in-swinging yorker.
It took Bairstow to get things motoring. He needed it too. Bairstow looked hopelessly out of form against Australia and after a winter of low returns for England is looking over his shoulder.
Of course Bairstow loves a fist fight for his place and batting away critics. His belligerence was just what England needed. He hit three fours and two sixes, taking the game on as he relished promotion to three in place of Jacks.
It was a charmed life as he took the necessary risks. Keeper Zane Green dropped a thin edge on 15 as Bairstow tried to sweep off spinner Gerhard Scholtz. A skier landed between fielders on 17 and Namibia fluffed a run out with Bairstow short of his ground on 31. In such a shortened game, those mistakes were crucial.
Too many singles were given away, the inexperience showing in the Namibia side. Bairstow fell top edging a wide ball off left arm spinner Bernard Scholtz but Moeen Ali continued the attack, whacking his second ball for six as England really took control.
A 10-minute rain stoppage cut the overs down to 10 but that played in England’s favour. In an 11 over game one bowler was allotted three and Namibia had helped back Wiese for the end. But with the rain trimming it to a 10 over innings all bowlers could now bowl a maximum of two so Wiese was finished.
Brook was not humming along nicely. He went four, six four off seamer Jack Brassell, opening up all parts of the ground with his whippy hands and inventive play. Moeen hit two sixes in 16 off six until he holed out in the final over. Liam Livingstone launched two sixes and England scored 40 runs in 12 balls after the rain.
England beat Namibia to put pressure back on Scotland – as it happened
11:11 PM BST
Jos Buttler’s reaction
It’s a big relief. It was a stressful day with the rain coming down but I thought we played really well. When I got out I thought 85-90 might be a good score so credit to the batters, especially Bairstow and Brook. We’ve done all we can do, and we’ll see what happens.
11:04 PM BST
Group B table
11:02 PM BST
The player of the match is Harry Brook
There was a lot of anxiety going around. We didn’t think we were gonna get out there, but thankfully we did in the end. I was plinking a few twos but I’m glad I scored a few runs. I’ve been asleep before the night games have been finishing but hopefully I can stay up tonight!
10:58 PM BST
England win by 41 runs
OVER 10: NAM 84/3 (Eramus 1 Smit 0) In bright sunshine, Archer completes a big victory for England. They went through the wringer, with the start delayed by three hours because of heavy rain, but eventually they were able to take care of business.
So now it all comes down to Australia v Scotland in St Lucia, a match that begins in two and a half hours’ time. If Australia win, England will join South Africa, West Indies and the USA in the Super 8s. If not, Scotland will make history.
10:54 PM BST
Wicket!
Wiese c Brook b Archer 27 Wiese heaves Archer to long on, where the player of the match Brook takes another catch. Three balls remaining. David Wiese, a giant of associate cricket, gets a really warm send-off from both sets of players in his final game for Namibia. FOW: 82/3
10:52 PM BST
OVER 9: NAM 80/2 (Wiese 26 Erasmus 0)
One over remaining. Namibia need 46.
10:52 PM BST
Wicket!
Van Lingen c Brook b Jordan 33 Van Lingen clubs Jordan over long-on for six but then picks out Brook when trying to repeat the stroke. England have survived an almighty scare in Antigua. FOW: 80/2
10:45 PM BST
OVER 8: NAM 71/1 (Van Lingen 26 Wiese 24)
Wiese, given the strike by a misfield from Salt, smashes Rashid for back-to-back sixes over long off and midwicket. A thump over mid off gives him four more, and he takes a single to keep the strike. Wiese has 24 from 8 balls. But Namibia, whose revised target has been reduced from 127 to 126, need 55 from 12. I’m not sure even Carlos Brathwaite could win this.
10:40 PM BST
OVER 7: NAM 51/1 (Van Lingen 25 Wiese 5)
Wiese back cuts his first ball from Curran for four. In hindsight he should have opened, though I’m not sure it would have made any difference. England have been smart and efficient with bat and ball.
Curran ends a good spell with figures of 2-0-13-0.
10:37 PM BST
Wicket! (Technically)
Davin retired out 18 Blimey, Namibia have retired Nikolaas Davin so that David Wiese can come in. “I wish that rule had existed when I was captain,” says Michael Atherton to his fellow commentator. “I’d have been calling you in every day!” FOW: 44/1
10:35 PM BST
OVER 6: NAM 44/0 (Van Lingen 23 Davin 18)
Adil Rashid’s first ball is launched spectacularly over square leg for six by Van Lingen. But like Jordan, he concedes only four from the rest of the over. That’s nowhere near enough for Namibia, who need almost 21 runs per over.
10:31 PM BST
OVER 5: NAM 34/0 (Van Lingen 16 Davin 17)
Davin slaps Chris Jordan over backward point for six. Even with that blow Jordan concedes only ten from his first over, which means Namibia need 93 from 30 balls.
Five overs have been bowled, so there will be a positive result one way or the other. England looked finished a couple of hours ago but somehow they are still in the World Cup.
10:27 PM BST
OVER 4: NAM 24/0 (Van Lingen 15 Davin 8)
Sam Curran, starting his first game of the World Cup, will love this situation. He can go through all his variations, knowing that every dot ball is a victory. He starts with two in three balls before Davin top-edges a pull over Buttler’s head for four.
A fine over ends with a beauty that bursts over the top of Van Lingen’s attempted cut. England are closing in on an unlikely victory.
10:22 PM BST
OVER 3: NAM 18/0 (Van Lingen 14 Davin 3)
Liam Livingstone is off the field with that side problem and must be a doubt should England reach the Super 8s.
Topley bowls his second and final over, hitting the pitch hard to maximise the slightly erratic bounce. Davin drives the surprise full ball for a single to get off the mark, but that’s one of only four runs from another superb over. Topley finishes with superb figures of 2-0-6-0.
England were 18/2 at this stage, so Namibia are ahead of the game. They also need 109 from 42 balls.
10:17 PM BST
OVER 2: NAM 14/0 (Van Lingen 13 Davin 0)
Van Lingen is beaten by Archer’s two deliveries, then top-edges successive short balls for four and six. A one-handed drive loops over cover for a couple to complete a good over for Namibia.
10:13 PM BST
OVER 1: NAM 2/0 (Van Lingen 1 Davin 0)
Reece Topley’s first delivery is a no-ball, but then he beats Michael van Lingen with three in a row, including the free hit.
Despite that false start it’s a superb first over, with only one run off the bat.
10:05 PM BST
Superlative hitting
That was superlative hitting by England after the powerplay: 104 in the last seven overs. They certainly don’t deserve to be knocked out now.
10:02 PM BST
OVER 10: ENG 122/5 (Brook 47)
That was a pretty good effort from England, especially after they slipped to 18 for 2 after three overs. Harry Brook played a charming little innings of 47 not out from 20 balls, and Nos 3-6 all hits a couple of sixes apiece.
10:01 PM BST
Wicket!
Livingstone run out 12 Once upon a time, a gentleman cricketer defended his first delivery. Liam Livingstone has just hit his over square leg for a one-handed six. He launches his second down the ground for six more, then takes two byes to the keeper when Namibia miss a run-out chance at both ends. That was one for the books.
Livingstone can only take a single off the last ball, a smart wide yorker, and is run out trying to steal a second. He’s hurt his side in the process, which could be a problem if England reach the Super 8s. FOW: 122/5
Namibia’s revised target is 127 to win.
09:56 PM BST
Wicket!
Moeen c Davin b Trumpelmann 16 Six and out for Moeen, who pulls to deep midwicket to end a handy knock of 16 from 6 balls. Liam Livingstone has four deliveries in which to do as much damage as possible. FOW: 107/4
09:52 PM BST
OVER 9: ENG 101/3 (Brook 47 Moeen 10)
Brilliant batting from Harry Brook, who takes 14 from the last three balls of the over. He ramps Brassell for four, swats a slower bouncer over extra cover for six and then ramps another boundary. It’s been a really inventive innings, including lots of twos, and he has raced to 47 from 20 balls.
09:46 PM BST
The players are coming back on!
It was a mercifully brief shower and England’s innings is about to resume. The match has been reduced to 10 overs a side, so England have 12 balls left.
09:39 PM BST
Rain stops play
That will probably be the end of England’s innings. The only question is whether there will be enough time for Namibia to face at least five overs.
Urgh, I’m too old for this.
09:38 PM BST
OVER 8: ENG 82/3 (Brook 29 Moeen 9)
Moeen Ali drives his second ball over wide long-on for a flat six, a classic Moeen shot.
Oh for goodness sake, it’s raining again and the players are going off.
09:34 PM BST
Wicket!
Bairstow c Green b Scholtz 31 Bairstow slogs the left-arm spinner Scholtz straight up in the air to end a vital, sometimes brutal cameo of 31 from 18 balls. FOW: 69/3
09:32 PM BST
OVER 7: ENG 69/2 (Bairstow 31 Brook 25)
Erasmus drops short to Bairstow, who heaves an emphatic pull for six. A run-out chance goes begging later in the over, with Erasmus unable to take the ball cleanly when Bairstow was well short of his ground.
This is frantic, fascinating stuff. Brook works two to bring up a vital fifty partnership from 27 balls, then slices a boundary past short third man. Seventeen from the over.
09:28 PM BST
OVER 6: ENG 52/2 (Bairstow 25 Brook 15)
The teenage seamer Jack Brassell comes into the attack. He might be the bowler that England target – and Brook does just that by hitting 10 from two balls. After lifting an effortless six over midwicket, Brook rocked back to hammer a cut for four.
Brassell responds impressively, beating Brook with the last two balls of the over. One of them burst through the top, which is a good sign for England’s bowlers.
09:25 PM BST
Watch: Trumpelmann bowls Buttler for a duck
09:24 PM BST
OVER 5: ENG 39/2 (Bairstow 24 Brook 3)
The pitch is spinning and it’s thrill-a-minute stuff. Bairstow smears the offspinner Erasmus miles in the air, with the ball somehow bisecting three fielders, then smashes a one-bounce four to cow corner.
Bairstow is swinging violently at everything, frequently mistiming the ball, but he has made 24 vital runs from only 14 balls.
09:19 PM BST
OVER 4: ENG 29/2 (Bairstow 15 Brook 2)
On comes the left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, who finds some turn and bounce to beat Bairstow with successive deliveries.
Bairstow responds with a reverse sweep over backward point for four – and then a mighty blow over long on for six. An eventful over concludes with a dropped catch from the keeper; at least it looks that way from Scholtz’s reaction.
Replays confirm it was a chance, albeit a very sharp one when Bairstow stop-edged a smear across the line.
09:17 PM BST
A bad toss to lose
Very rare to see so much swing and seam movement in the West Indies. It was an influential toss that England lost, especially if the pitch dries and flattens out.
09:15 PM BST
OVER 3: ENG 18/2 (Bairstow 5 Brook 1)
England need to hold their nerve and decide which bowlers to target. Bairstow will probably go after all of them: he reads Wiese’s slower ball and chips it straight back over his head for four.
Wiese ends another fine over by beating Bairstow with an outswinger. He has marvellous figures of 2-0-6-1, and that’s the end of the reduced Powerplay.
09:12 PM BST
Wicket!
Salt c Green b Wiese 11 Uh-oh. England are in trouble here. Phil Salt has gone, thin-edging a brilliant knuckle ball from Wiese through to the keeper. That’s majestic bowling from a superb allround cricketer FOW: 13/2
09:10 PM BST
OVER 2: ENG 13/1 (Salt 11 Bairstow 1)
Salt gets England moving with successive boundaries, a cross-bat smear over mid-off and a deliberate uppercut.
09:07 PM BST
Wicket!
Buttler b Trumpelmann 0 Fantastic bowling from Ruben Trumpelmann! He has bowled Jos Buttler for a duck with a classic inswinger to the right-hander. It deflected off the pad and onto the stumps, and Buttler is on his way. England have a game on here. FOW: 2/1
09:04 PM BST
OVER 1: ENG 1/0 (Salt 1 Buttler 0)
The experienced David Wiese beats Phil Salt with his first two deliveries. Salt was trying to launch both over midwicket.
Buttler is also beaten by successive deliveries – one full, one short. That’s a terrific first over from Wiese, helped by a bit of movement from a sweaty pitch.
08:56 PM BST
The players are ready
Against all odds, we’re going to get some cricket. England need at least 16 overs of play (11 in their innings and 5 in Namibia’s) for there to be a positive result.
Imagine if, after all that drama, England were beaten by Namibia.
08:55 PM BST
A surprising XI
Seems a strange call to leave out Will Jacks. The sort of batsman who could win an 11-over game on his own.
08:48 PM BST
England pray for no more rain
Any further showers will almost certainly end England’s World Cup. Those on the ground seem cautiously optimistic, no more than that.
08:44 PM BST
Team news
Chris Jordan and Sam Curran replace Will Jacks and Mark Wood in the England team, which is slightly surprising. Namibia bring in JP Kotze for Ben Shikongo.
England Salt, Buttler (c/wk), Bairstow, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Curran, Jordan, Archer, Rashid, Topley.
Namibia Van Lingen, Davin, Frylinck, Kotze, Erasmus (c), Smit, Green (wk), Wiese, Trumpelmann, Scholtz, Brassell.
08:41 PM BST
Namibia win the toss and bowl
Jos Buttler would have done the same.
08:40 PM BST
The captains are on the field!
I haven’t been as excited about a toss in a very long time.
08:25 PM BST
Washout would leave Key in tricky position
English observers would surely rather the certainty of going out having lost to Namibia than a washed out game.
If this is lost to rain, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions. They would have lost to the best team in the group, beaten the worst, and been washed out against the two middling ones.
Yes, they are lacking credit in the bank after the World Cup last year and started poorly against Scotland but firm conclusions aren’t easy and leave Rob Key in a tricky position.
08:23 PM BST
Game on!!
ICC officials say we are looking at the toss at 3.40pm (8.40pm BST), 4pm start and 11 overs a side. It does look brighter, the clouds clearing a little and both teams are out warming up.
08:15 PM BST
The covers are coming off
Don’t get too hopeful, though. Every time the covers have been removed today it has started raining within minutes, sometimes seconds.
08:07 PM BST
Follow Italy v Albania at Euro 2024
England aren’t the only reigning champions in trouble. Italy have conceded after 23 seconds of their opening Euro 2024 game against Albania. You can read all about it on Will Conroy’s live blog.
08:02 PM BST
Always look on the bright side of life
A reminder that the latest possible start time, for a five-over match, is 9.46pm BST. It’s not happening.
07:47 PM BST
No news is bad news
07:27 PM BST
Time running out for England
If we get a 4pm (9pm UK) start the match will be reduced to 11 overs a side. It is raining again I’m afraid.
07:17 PM BST
Banter latest
07:13 PM BST
No update until 8pm
It’s so wet that the umpires have ruled out any movement in the next 50 minutes. I think England are done.
07:00 PM BST
A tale of 66.3 overs
That’s how long England have been on the field in the entire tournament. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what else to tell you. This is a miserable, confusing way for England’s greatest white-ball team to end their final World Cup campaign.
06:56 PM BST
England facing a soggy exit
It is raining heavier than ever now and the clouds have really closed in. Sitting in the press box is like being in a car wash What a non-event this World Cup has been for England. An iffy ten overs against Scotland, poor decision-making and performance in the Australia match, a clinical kill against Oman and potentially this total washout.
06:48 PM BST
If the match is rained off…
Scotland will join West Indies, South Africa and the USA in the Super 8s. It would also mean that three of the four semi-finalists from the last T20 World Cup have been eliminated at the first group stage.
06:45 PM BST
Race against time for England
This match has to be underway by 4.46pm Antigua time (9.46pm in the UK) otherwise it will be a no result and England go out. There is very little wind so the rain clouds are lingering and as soon as the groundstaff start mopping up, it rains again. The tarpaulin covers do a job to a certain extent but the pitch looks damp already. It is a sandy outfield here so it drains quickly.
06:39 PM BST
Another heavy shower
This is getting serious, if it wasn’t already. It’s hammering down again and there’s no chance of any play for the foreseeable. I think the cut-off time for a five-over game is around 9.45pm.
06:04 PM BST
Every cloud
One silver lining for England: their demolition of Oman on Thursday has made their task far easier. Trying to improve their net run rate in a shortened match would be a real challenge.
05:57 PM BST
Things looking up for England
It has just stopped raining and looking to the left of the media centre where the weather is blowing in from, I think we may have had the worst of it but I reserve the right to disown this later when Matthew Mott is resigning in the rain.
05:51 PM BST
No immediate prospect of play
There was a ferocious shower a few minutes ago, which has left puddles on the outfield, so there’s no chance of play starting in the next half hour or so. There’s still plenty of time to play with at the moment. The umpires won’t start deducting overs until 7.30pm BST.
05:39 PM BST
Pitch report
The pitch is the same one that was used for England’s evisceration of Oman on Thursday, which will please Adil Rashid and the quick bowlers. It was a terrific surface actually.
05:35 PM BST
Toss delayed
The covers are back on I’m afraid. Those on the ground are confident there will be a game, though it might not be a full 40-over contest.
05:19 PM BST
Red army
05:02 PM BST
Better news for England
The rain has blown through and the covers are coming off, so as things stand the game will start on time.
05:01 PM BST
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04:54 PM BST
Follow Spain v Croatia at Euro 2024
While we wait for some action in Antigua, you may wish to follow Spain v Croatia with Rob Bagchi.
04:50 PM BST
Rain threatens England’s chances
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of England v Namibia in Antigua. If all goes to plan, England’s place in the Super 8s will be confirmed at around 5am tomorrow morning. But that depends on three things.
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The weather in Antigua and St Lucia
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England beating Namibia tonight
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Australia beating Scotland in the early hours.
At least we don’t have to worry about net run-rate. England’s high-speed victory over Oman took care of that, so now it’s just about whether they can join Scotland on five points. There’s no guarantee of that, mainly because it is pouring down in Antigua as I type. The forecast is better for the rest of the day, but it’s a layer of anxiety that England could do without.
“We have got to show a little bit more and then fingers crossed for Australia,” said Mark Wood. “Then when you are through to that next stage every team can go on from there. I’m absolutely confident they’ll play the game their hardest, that’s the Australian way. They’ll play hard and fair and try to get the win.”
Wood was reluctant to criticise Josh Hazlewood for suggesting that Australia could engineer England’s exit. “I think I saw it more as a respect thing if I’m honest,” he said. “He was saying England have done well against Australia in the recent past and he thinks we’re a big threat. I had no problem with it. It’s all part of England versus Australia.”
For now, England versus Namibia is our concern. The match is scheduled to start at 6pm BST, 1pm in Antigua.
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