Heavy rain in Antigua threatened to send England’s T20 World Cup campaign down the drain but skies cleared for them to claim the necessary win
England kept their T20 World Cup defence alive in Antigua as they dominated a rain-shorted 10-over thrash against Namibia to put the ball in Scotland’s court.
For three long hours it looked as though the weather would finish the defending champions off, with furious showers hammering the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, but conditions improved enough to spare Jos Buttler’s side a soggy fate and pave the way for a 41-run win.
After a nervy start that saw Jos Buttler bowled for a duck and wily veteran David Wiese take two for six off his two-over spell with the new ball, Harry Brook (47 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (31) threw off the shackles to power England to winning mark of 5-122.
Chasing 126 on DLS, Namibia were only able to muster 3-84. They did not go down without making a mark, though, pulling a surprise midway through their pursuit when opener Nikolaas Davin retired out after six overs.
Voluntarily ending his innings to allow the powerful Wiese to take his place, he employed a controversial tactic that has been seen before in the Indian Premier League, but never before at a major international tournament. Wiese improved the scoring briefly but not enough to threaten an upset.
With five points on the board and a superior net run-rate safely banked, it would now take a shock victory for the Scots against Australia in the late match in St Lucia to send England crashing out.
Having waited until 4pm local time to get on the field, England threatened to allow nervous energy to derail them.
Wiese, the 39-year-old veteran and county cricket stalwart, gave up just one off his first over and five from his second, snapping up Phil Salt’s outside edge with a sumptuous slower ball along the way.
The pressure then dialled up another notch when the big left-armer Ruben Trumpelmann cleaned up Buttler for a four-ball duck, toppling off stump via a deflection off the front pad.
England needed a release but instead put themselves further into trouble when a Wiese slower ball bamboozled Phil Salt, who was caught behind with his bat out to dry.
Jonny Bairstow, promoted to three in the absence of the dropped Will Jacks, got things moving with a reverse-swept four and a straight six off Bernard Scholz but was gifted a life when a nick off the next ball popped out of the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
Emboldened, England took 13 off the sixth over and 17 from the seventh, Brook starting well and depositing Durham’s Jack Brassell for six over long-on before Bairstow pulled Gerhard Erasmus hard and flat over midwicket.
A 56-run stand had got the rate up past 10 an over but the growing momentum was about to be checked again.
Bairstow might have been run out haring back for a second, spared by Erasmus’ scruffy take at the bowler’s end, but was soon gone anyway as he launched Scholz high off the toe of the bat and into Zane Green’s gloves.
Moeen Ali took exactly two deliveries to find his range, swatting Scholtz down the ground for six more before another brief rain break shaved an over off each innings.
With 12 balls left after the restart, England added another 40 runs in a crucial passage.
Brook worked the gaps expertly, ramping Brassell for four over his shoulder twice either side of a powerful smash that cleared the extra-cover boundary by 20 yards and Liam Livingstone flayed his first two balls for six after Moeen holed out.
Livingstone then spent the Namibia innings off the ground having appeared to suffer a side injury while swinging the bat late in England’s innings.
England were firm favourites at the innings break, a position Reece Topley cemented as he gave up just six runs from his two Powerplay overs.
Michael van Lingen flailed Jofra Archer for six and four despite appearing deeply uncomfortable against his pace, but the reply was slipping well behind as Namibia reached 34 by the halfway stage.
Davin hit Chris Jordan for one handy six but was not getting the job done and fell on his sword after making 18 from 16 balls. Namibia had waited long enough to unleash their power-hitter, Wiese, and bent the rules to bring him out despite not losing a wicket.
He did not disappoint, drilling Sam Curran for four off his first ball then smashing back-to-back sixes off Adil Rashid’s leg-spin.
Even so, the equation had long since spiralled out of control and he departed for a spirited 27 off 12 balls as Archer closed out the final over.
Wiese was embraced by several of England’s stars and giving an ovation off the field by the sparse crowd in what was his final international outing for Namibia.
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