Buttler hurting the US... and the environment
England have brought their 50 up for no loss in 5.2 overs. They're on course to blitz this target and drastically improve their Net Run Rate ahead of South Africa versus West Indies tonight. That match is now a quarter-final...
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Slow, then fast, as England get to the line
7 Dot balls in the first two overs of the chase
A subdued start from Jos Buttler and Phil Salt due to the excellence of both left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh.
The former went across both right-handers exclusively, with the odd cross-seam delivery, ensuring England's opening pair could not free their arms or get under him. Harmeet, on the other hand, darted his left-arm orthodox from around the wicket, with that low action with minimal use of his front arm.
As ever with these two batters, the catch-up is just around the corner. And, unfortunately for Netravalkar, he was on the receiving end in his next over...
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Chris Jordan has a hat-trick! USA 115 all out
The Bajan-born fast bowler has an international hat-trick at the Kensington Oval! What a moment for Chris Jordan. Four wickets in five deliveries, no less, as USA are bundled out for 115.
Having had Corey Anderson caught down the ground at the start of the over, he went bang-bang-bang; Ali Khan's off stump knocked over, Kenjige trapped in front, then Netravalkar losing his middle stump!
"Unbelievable feeling," says Jordan at the end of the innings. "More importantly, to restrict them with a solid fielding performance. To take it in a special place like this is really something. I wanted to get the ball on target and just finish it off, and luckily, I was able to do it."
Another professional display in the field from England. They will need to achieve their target of 116 in 18.4 overs to better South Africa's Net Run Rate of 0.625 (they are currently 0.412) and guarantee a semi-final berth.
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Singh comes and goes
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An excellent 18th over for USA, taking 14 runs from it to lift their hopes of a 130-plus score. Harmeet Singh survived the third delivery of the over, bunting a full toss to Moeen Ali at cover, but with enough force to pierce the vice-captain's hands for a couple.
Curran goes again with a variation that sits up and allows Harmeet to blaze over Moeen this time, before lifting just beyond Harry Brook at wide long on for six. Just as it looked like he had found his range, an attempt to sign off the over in sign is undone by a low full toss knuckle ball from Curran, which catches Harmeet unaware. He should really have connected better as Jordan stoops to take a catch at long off.
Those dreams of 130-plus are dying a death as Corey Anderson smashes another full toss to a fielder in the deep, before Ali Khan's off stump is taken for a walk. And now Kenjige is trapped in front first ball! Jordan is on a hat-trick...
Like the USA's tournament as a whole, this is ending in a bit of a whimper after a strong start.
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Rashid's googly
How can something so wrong'un, be so right? A second USA cricketer has been bowled by a googly. Adil Rashid's, no less.
The first victim was Aaron Jones, robbing us of a bat-and-ball reunion with Jofra Archer. The slog-sweep is Jones' calling card, featuring heavily in his unbeaten 94 against Canada that got this whole show on the road at the start of the month in Dallas.
But we're not in Dallas anymore. And here in Barbados, Jones heard the death rattle as he misread a googly in an attempt to clear the fence. Not long after, Nitish Kumar was guilty of the same, this time offering plenty of room between bat and pad for the ball to wander through and disturb his stumps. Five of Rashid's nine dismissals this tournament have been with the one that goes the other way. He is now England's joint-top wicket-taker in T20 World Cups with 30, level with Stuart Broad.
The leg spinner is currently through three overs, with remarkable figures of 2 for 10 - nine dot balls and not a boundary conceded. Together with Liam Livingstone, USA were restricted to 25 for 2 in the six overs since the Powerplay - where they managed 48 for 2 - and need Corey Anderson to get a move on.
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Curran strikes in the last over of the Powerplay!
A back-of-the-hand slower ball asks Steven Taylor to put a bit more into this cut shot. Sadly, he can only cut to the left of Moeen Ali at backward point, who takes a few steps before putting in the dive.
Milestone wicket, too, for Curran...
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Reece Topley strikes in the 1st over!
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The Gous was looking to let loose, punching his 11th six of the competition with a glorious flick off a leg-stump half-volley from Reece Topley. It landed flush on the sponge, and with third in the ring, it was both a well-judged shot from USA's leading runscorer and a poor line from the left armer.
A ball later, Topley veered on a similar, but a little straighter. Gous fancied that same region but ended up hitting too square, straight into the hands of Phil Salt at deep square leg.
A shame for Andries Gous, who barring an unlikely swing in results, ends his World Cup with an impressive 219 runs at 43.80 and an impressive strike rate of 151.03.
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A Bajan reunion
Aaron Jones is carded at No.4, and there's every chance he'll come against his old mate, Jofra Archer. The pair attended primary and second school with each other and they have already exchanged the odd bit of smacktalk ahead of today's encounter.
"Oh, if he hits my helmet or anything, he will talk about it for the next three years for sure," Jones told Sid Monga. "If I can hit it [a delivery from Archer] for a six, I will definitely hit it for a six. If it's a good one, I will just let it go."
Read the full interview here.
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The Bridgetown boundary dimensions
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England win the toss, bowl first
Jos Buttler calls correctly and fancies a chase. "With the early morning start, it may be a little bit tacky to start with."
England make one change, as expected, with Chris Jordan coming back into the XI at the expense of Mark Wood. "We're really to the business end of the competition now," says Buttler. "It's been a quick turnaround but we need to bring our intensity today. We know what we have to do."
Aaron Jones says he'd have fancied bowling first, too, with what the pitch can offer the pacers up top, and announces an unchanged team from the defeat against West Indies. Monank Patel is still missing. "We're going to come hard, as always. We're going to play fearless cricket. Let's see how we come up."
It is important to remember that the USA do have a sliver of an opportunity to make it through to the knockouts. They do, however, need to bumper results. Here's a full rundown of the Group 2 scenarios.
USA: 1 Steven Taylor, 2 Andries Gous (wk), 3 Nitish Kumar, 4 Aaron Jones (capt), 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Shayan Jahangir, 7 Harmeet Singh, 8 Nosthush Kenjinge, 9 Shadley van Schalkwyk, 10 Ali Khan, 11 Saurabh Netravalkar
England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley
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Advantage USA?
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Barn-burner in Bridgetown?
Welcome, one and all, to the first of this final round of Super Eight matches in Group 2. We’re back in Barbados for this Old World versus New World battle between England and USA.
England know a win pretty much guarantees them passage through to the knockout stages, taking them to four points. The margin of victory only needs to be so great - winning by 10 if they batted first, for example - to leapfrog South Africa’s net run rate. That way, regardless of the result between South Africa (currently on four points) and West Indies (two), the title defence is still on track, having survived a couple of potentially derailing shunts along the way.
For the USA, this is something of a farewell. Sure, a Super Size Me blowout win could get them second if the Proteas inflict a similar shellacking on the West Indies. But the reality is the main motivation is to finish an engaging campaign with a bang.
After taking down Pakistan in Group A, how cool would it be to take down both of 2022’s finalists in their maiden World Cup?
Here's our man on the ground Sid Monga with an update on conditions: "Good morning. There’s evidence of overnight rain but it’s bright and sunny. The forecast has improved, and even though I can’t guarantee no interruptions, I can guarantee a completed game on behalf of Barbados. Same pitch as the West Indies vs USA game."
Sid also reports that Chris Jordan has been marking his run-up. Perhaps coming in for Mark Wood? We'll found out in half-an-hour...
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