KATHMANDU: Jos Buttler’s side need a win to give themselves any chance of progressing to the second round. Harry Brook stepped up to the plate.
England’s hope of defending their title at the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup continue – at least for the time being, beating Namibia by 41 runs (DSL method).
Jos Buttler’s side made 122/5 in a truncated match – knowing they had to win to ensure their place in the Super 8s.
And brilliant batting from Harry Brook, who made 47 off 20 balls, got them part of the way there.
After a mid-innings rain delay, the match was reduced from its original rain-delayed 11 overs a side to 10 overs a side, meaning Namibia had to chase a DLS-adjusted 127 to win.
A heavy defeat against Australia followed by a resounding win over Oman plus a washout against Scotland in the opener had left the defending champions in a perilous position.
And even a win may not be enough depending on the result between Australia and Scotland.
Openers fall early
After a lengthy rain delay, when play finally began Jos Buttler fell in the second over of England’s innings for a duck, bowled superbly by Ruben Trumpelmann.
And fellow opener Phil Salt fell in the next over to David Wiese, leaving England 13/2.
It was left to Jonny Bairstow and Brook to steady the ship putting on a solid partnership of 56 – before Bairstow was caught by wicketkeeper Zane Green off Bernard Scholtz.
Rain stopped play with England 82/3, and when they returned to the field Brook then got great support from Moeen Ali (16) and later Liam Livingstone, who was run out in the final ball of the innings having faced four balls and scored 13.
Valiant effort from Namibia
With a sizeable target to chase, Namibia’s openers knew they had their work cut out. Having made 44 together with fellow opener Michael van Lingen, Nikolaas Davin retired out at the end of the sixth over.
It brought Wiese to the crease, promoted up the order, and he soon showed why with some epic hitting, notably two sixes and a four in successive Adil Rashid balls.
But the England bowlers did what had to be done, limiting Namibia to a total of 84/3, with Brook once again integral, taking catches to remove van Lingen off a Chris Jordan delivery and then to dismiss Wiese off Jofra Archer in the last over.
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