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Teams that have won all their games in this World Cup: India, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
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Teams that have won none: Ireland, England, Oman, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
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Oman 1 Kashyap Prajapati, 2 Pratik Athavale (wk), 3 Aqib Ilyas (capt), 4 Zeeshan Maqsood, 5 Khalid Kail, 6 Ayaan Khan, 7 Shoaib Khan, 8 Mehran Khan, 9 Fayyaz Butt, 10 Kaleemullah, 11 Bilal Khan.
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England 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.
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As widely predicted, Reece Topley gets his first go of the tournament, replacing Chris Jordan. With his swing and height and left-arm angle, he could have made all the difference against Australia.
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“Looks a really good wicket,” says Jos Buttler. “But we’d like to know what we’re chasing.” How much will the net run rate prey on his team’s minds, Mike Atherton wonders. “Yeah, a little bit.”
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Aqib Ilyas says he would have bowled first too.
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It’s not raining yet.
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Evening everyone and welcome to a giant banana skin. A game that should have been a breeze for England is now fraught with danger. It’s not just must-win, it’s must-win-big. After their first two matches of this World Cup, England have no wins, one point, and two old foes sniggering as they see them squirm – Scotland and Australia. Now they meet a new foe in Oman, who will be facing England for the first time ever in international cricket.
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England have never successfully defended a World Cup in cricket, football or rugby (not even the women have managed it). So far they haven’t looked remotely like changing that dismal record. Their bowlers were flayed by the Scottish openers, then marmalised by the Aussie ones. Against Scotland, England neither took a wicket nor scored a run. Against Australia, they did both without coming close to winning.
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There’s no shame, of course, in losing to the world’s best tournament team. And it was cruel that England’s hopes of bashing 109 in ten overs against Scotland were washed away by the Bridgetown rain. But the upshot is that they are in grave danger of heading for the same embarrassment as when they went to India, eight months ago, as the 50-over world champions.
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That said, they’re English – they’re used to being embarrassed. And they now face what are on paper their two easiest assignments, against Oman and Namibia. Oman have even fewer points than England (none), but only because they lost to Namibia in a Super Over.
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Both games are at the Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua and, weather permitting, England should win them by a street. The question is: will it be a wide enough street to lead to the Super Eights?
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Play is due to start at 3pm local time, 8pm BST. So I hope to see you soon around 7.35pm BST with news of the toss and teams.
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Important Events
2nd over: Oman 11-1 (Kashyap Prajapati 0, Aqib Ilyas 5) Jofra Archer joins Topley in a new-ball attack that is curiously lacking in off-spin. And then suddenly it all happens. A wide! Four! Atabare goes down the track (bravely). A catch! (see below). A bouncer! And then a play-and-miss from Aqib, a brilliant batsman who has yet to hit his stride this tournament. Another four! A classic cut. And a single to end it.
Meanwhile, Phil Bowen is complaining to Brendan Large: “I’m sick and tired of reading about England being denied points in games against Scotland,” Phil fumes. “Scotland were 90-0 down and the rain saved England.”
Wickets! Atavale c Salt b Archer 5 (Oman 6-1)
It was a slap to cover and Phil Salt made a great play by putting his finger under the Stinger.
1st: Oman 1-0 (Pratiq Atavale 1, Kashyap Prajapati 0) Topley immediately realised its steep bounce and Atavare shuffled the first ball well for a single, which may have been hit on the arm but was given as a run, Topley then managed to cramp Prajapati, who was recalled soon after being dismissed with the scores at 0 and 7. A single and 5 dots. A good start from Topley.
The pitch also seems to be better. Bridgetown looked like a stale biscuit in both England games.
Reece Topley is having the ball. England already look good.
“The weather is fine,” says Nasser Hussein. “It was raining a moment ago, but now the sky is blue and there’s a gentle breeze.” Does the commentator’s curse apply when Sky people talk about the sky?
Both teams will come in red, at least in the top half. Oman’s trousers are also red, England’s are blue. In a few decades, the concept of a second stripe will be a hot topic in cricket. The flags hoisted ostentatiously over the outfield are similar. Oman’s national anthem sounds grandiose but overly long to my untrained ears.
current situation
The teams who have won every match in this World Cup are: India, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
Teams that have never won the championship: Ireland, England, Oman, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
One brings two. “Good evening, Tim,” says Krish Krishnamoorthy, “covering England v Oman OBO would be like getting free tickets to Waiting for Godot. Maybe today you’ll be covering history. Whisper it…”
Haha, when I went to school we had to recite Waiting for Godot in class when I was about 15, and it almost made me hate Beckett for the rest of my life.
The first email Oman Scandinavia. “Hi Tim,” says Brendan Large, “I’m watching the live broadcast from Norway and I’m feeling a bit panicked. Is there a chance of rain for today’s game? If two games are cancelled and England go out, that would be very tough, but besides… I want to watch some cricket so it would be a very boring outcome.” It will! The last weather forecast I saw predicted a little rain, but seemed to suggest the game would be something.
List of teams: Oman
Oman 1 Kashyap Prajapati, 2 Pratik Athavale (wicketkeeper), 3 Aqib Ilyas (captain), 4 Zeeshan Maqsood, 5 Khalid Khair, 6 Ayaan Khan, 7 Shoaib Khan, 8 Mehran Khan, 9 Faiyaz Butt, 10 Karimullah, 11 Bilal Khan.
List of teams: England
England 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (captain, Weekend), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.
Team Overview: Topley joins
As expected, Reece Topley made his tournament debut in place of Chris Jordan and his swing, height and left-handed angle could have made all the difference against Australia.
Toss: England wins and bowls
“It’s a really good wicket,” Jos Buttler says, “but I want to know what we’re chasing.” Mike Atherton wonders to what extent the net run rate will bother teams’ minds. “Yes, a little bit.”
Aqib Ilyas also said he would have bowled first too.
Latest Weather
It’s not raining yet.
preamble
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the giant banana skin. What was supposed to be a breeze for England is now fraught with peril. Not only do they have to win, they have to win big. After the first two matches of this World Cup, England are winless, with one point, and two old rivals, Scotland and Australia, are chuckling as they watch England struggle. Now they face a new foe in Oman, who will be playing England for the first time in international cricket.
England have never successfully defended a World Cup in cricket, soccer or rugby (not even with the women’s team) and so far there is no sign of changing that dismal record. England’s bowlers were outplayed by the Scottish openers and then overwhelmed by the Australian bowlers. Against Scotland, England failed to take a wicket or score a run. Against Australia, they achieved both but came up short of victory.
Of course, there’s no shame in losing to the world’s best tournament team – and it was cruel when rain in Bridgetown dashed England’s hopes of hitting Scotland for 109 in 10 overs – but at the end of the day, England are in grave risk of facing the same embarrassment they faced eight months ago when they toured India as world 50-over champions.
But they are English and are used to being embarrassed, and now they face what are on paper the two easiest fixtures: Oman and Namibia. Oman have even fewer points than England (0), but that’s because they lost to Namibia in the Super Over.
Both matches will be played at the Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua and, weather permitting, England should win by one run. The question is whether the path to the Super Eights is wide enough.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 3pm local time, 8pm BST. We will bring you the toss and team news at approximately 7.35pm BST.
