Defending champions England will be eager to brush aside Namibia ruthlessly Antigua on Saturday and stay relevant in the race to the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage. (Streaming | Full Coverage)
NAM Vs ENG, ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Match 34 Preview: England Eye Big Win Against Namibia
Scotland have five points to England's three. Hence, the former two-time champions will need to defeat Namibia to go equal with Scotland and then hope that the latter will lose to Australia, who have already qualified for Super Eight
England were living on the edge after a washout against Scotland and a loss against Australia, but the Jos Buttler-led side turned it around in style with an eight-wicket win over Oman.
After bundling out Oman for 47, England raced past the target in just 3.1 overs, a record margin of 101 balls to spare.
The result has also done wonders to England's net run rate (NRR), the crucial separating factor between them and Scotland in Group B. The Three Lions' NRR leapt from -1.8 to +3.08, going past Scotland's +2.16.
However, Scotland have five points to England's three. Hence, the former two-time champions will need to defeat Namibia to go equal with Scotland and then hope that the latter will lose to Australia, who have already qualified for Super Eight.
In that scenario, England will enter Super Eight with better NRR, but an upset win over Australia by Scotland or a washout at Gros Islet will eliminate Buttler and his wards.
But skipper Buttler sounded confident after their massive win over Oman.
"I've been around long enough to know how it works," Buttler said after their win over Oman. "We know what's going on in the dressing room. We have lots of confidence in our team and we have another huge match to come," he added.
The pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has offered steep bounce and turn.
England bowlers such as leg-spinner Adil Rashid (4/11) and the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, who claimed identical figures of 3/12, exploited it to their advantage while bowling out Oman for their lowest over T20I total of 47 -- the overall fourth lowest in the T20 World Cup.
Buttler will hope to win the toss again to unleash his bowlers against the inexperienced Namibia who had folded for 72 in their last match against Australia.
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Teams:
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and Mark Wood.
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger and PD Blignaut.
Match starts: 10:30 pm IST.
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