England unleashed their best to steamroll USA in Barbados on Sunday. (AP)
Despite questions swirling around their progress out of the first group stage, despite contriving to lose a Super 8 match against South Africa that they looked to have under control late on, England became the first team to reach the T20 World Cup. It’s been a stop-start tournament for Jos Buttler’s men but such are the vagaries of tournament play, that they seal their place in the final four before teams that are yet to lose a match.
They did so by following a template we have seen already. Not for the first time in the tournament England’s bowlers restricted the opposition to a below-par total only to smash the target down in no time. Batting first, USA – despite a solid powerplay – were bundled out for 115. Buttler’s 38-ball 83 then powered the defending champions to 117/0 in 9.4 overs.
Chris Jordan picked up four wickets in three balls, including the third hat-trick of this tournament. Buttler was ruthless in his approach to the total, and powered England’s Net Run Rate even past the West Indies. But the real hero of the win was Adil Rashid, who spun a web with his mastery of wrist-spin.
Rashid’s brilliance
‘Are you watching closely?’ It’s one of the most famous opening lines to a movie (Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige) but it also sums up what batters must do when facing elite spinners in cricket. Because, if you aren’t, you are going to pay. Rashid’s googly is one of those magic tricks on a cricket field that can leave batsmen bamboozled by the sleight of hand.
Rashid picked up two wickets, and despite the more eye-catching performances from Jordan and Buttler, was rightly deemed the player of the match. The main reason for that was the importance of his spell in the middle phase of the innings, and the value of the batters he dismissed.
Brilliantly bowled googly by Adil Rashid to bamboozle USA captain!🔥
Will England spinners continue to apply more pressure?
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— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 23, 2024
Aaron Jones lit up the tournament early on with his six-hitting masterclass in Dallas against Canada – but mirroring USA’s campaign – finished with two ordinary displays in the end. He started off with a second ball four but was a bit sedate after that, perhaps trying to reign himself in a bit. Discipline, is what he thought was the biggest lesson from the West Indies defeat. But a scratchy innings ended soon, as he fell playing the slog sweep for the second time in a row. Rashid’s googly drew the false shot as Jones’ head wasn’t still, his reach wasn’t close to the ball that snuck past the defence.
Rashid’s googly did the damage again to USA’s best batter on the day. Nitish Kumar was looking in good touch but the ball that spun in sharply beat him all ends up. That particular delivery could have ended Corey Anderson’s innings a couple of times too. Rashid has now picked five out of his nine wickets in the tournament with the wrong ‘un.
“Two wickets, but so much more than that,” Nasser Hussain said on air to sum it up.
Jordan’s special night
The only change England made was to bring in Jordan for Mark Wood, the latter struggling for wickets despite cranking up the pace. Jordan made Buttler a happy captain for that call as he finished off USA’s batting with a hat-trick, making sure the target was small enough to be overhauled with plenty of balls to spare.
After getting Anderson at the start of the 19th over, Jordan honed in on the stumps with a hint of reverse swing that tailed back into tail-enders. It brought about a special moment for the English pacer in the country of his birth.
Jordan recalled in a 2020 interview with his then IPL franchise Punjab: “I remember the atmosphere there (Kensington Oval) was crazy. Everyone in Barbados used to rush to the stadium if they heard that West Indies were batting and were a wicket down, just to watch Brian Lara bat. Even if it was just one cover drive from Brian Lara, it was a joy for all.”
Jofra Archer’s rise from Barbados to England is well documented in recent times but Jordan had done it before him. At a venue where he grew up watching some of his idols, Jordan turned it up. It explained the smiles on his face as he celebrated with his teammates.
The run-chase itself was a question of how quickly England will chase it down. And when Buttler smashed Harmeet Singh for five sixes in one over, it was evident they didn’t just want to qualify for the semifinals but give their NRR a boost significant that gave them a chance of topping Group B. It’s been somewhat of a strange tournament for them, but the champions have done enough to be in the top four… from here on, it’s anybody’s tournament.
Brief scores: USA 115 (Nitish Kumar 30, Corey Anderson 29; Chris Jordan 4/10, Adil Rashid 2/13, Sam Curran 2/23) in 18.5 overs lost to England 117/0 (Jos Buttler 83 n.o) in 9.4 overs.
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