England 122 for 5 (Brook 47*, Bairstow 31) beat Namibia 84 for 3 (van Lingen 33, Wiese 26) by 41 runs (DLS method)
Watching rain fall doesn’t sound like a nail-biting pastime but for England the hours waiting to start their final group match of this T20 World Cup, against Namibia, were gripping. England’s eventual victory, by 41 runs in a match reduced to 10 overs per side in Antigua on Saturday, was pure relief for the defending champions.
No result other than a win would have kept England in contention for the Super Eight phase but they had to get on the park for that. After the toss was delayed by three hours – won by Namibia, who chose to bowl first – they finally had the chance to control their own destiny, to a point. The equation was simple. England had to beat Namibia and then wait to see whether Australia defeated Scotland to ensure they joined the Australians in progressing from Group B.
Showers before the scheduled start returned to Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in the form of a torrential downpour just as it looked like the covers would be lifted. England had to hold onto hope of a reduced-overs match despite the rain appearing to have set in. Eventually, play began at 4pm local time, reduced to 11 overs per side, which became 10 when rain intervened once more, albeit briefly, with England 82 for 3 after eight overs.
Namibia’s dream, England’s nightmare
Bairstow unleashed
Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz came into the attack in the fourth over and in for some Bairstow treatment, reverse-swept for four and muscled over long-on for six next ball. Bairstow skied Gerhard Erasmus’s third ball back over his head and, to England’s relief, the ball plugged in a gap between an advancing long-off, long-on and the bowler running back. He crashed the next through the leg side for four. Brook chimed in with a powerful six over deep midwicket off Jack Brassell and sent the next through point for four to bring up England’s fifty off 34 balls. When Erasmus returned, Bairstow immediately nailed a six over midwicket.
Bairstow survived a run-out chance on 31 and hadn’t added to his score when he top-edged an attempted cut off Scholtz towards short cover, where keeper Zane Green collected. Bairstow’s 18-ball knock was his first foray into double figures in three innings at this tournament and his highest score at a T20 World Cup, setting a solid platform after England’s shaky start before more rain arrived to halt play.
Brook in on the act
Davin makes way for Wiese
But they needed 55 off the last two overs and Michael van Lingen holed out to Brook off Chris Jordan, brought into the side for Mark Wood on the strength of his death bowling, on the final ball of the ninth. When Jofra Archer removed Wiese, again via a Brook catch in the deep in the final over, the 39-year-old walked off amid handshakes from several England players, a fitting international farewell in his last game for Namibia, the nation he transferred his allegiance to in 2021 after 26 matches for South Africa.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
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