England are through to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after a superb hat-trick from Chris Jordan on the island of his birth and some monstrous six-hitting from Jos Buttler brushed aside the USA at Kensington Oval. So much for the agonising calculations about net run-rate.
The result meant Buttler’s reigning champions became the first team to reach the last four - and spared them the torment of hoping for a South African win over West Indies in Sunday night’s late game in Antigua.
England won’t know whether they play in Trinidad on Wednesday or in Guyana on Thursday until the shake-up is complete in Group 1 late on Monday night, with India, Australia and Afghanistan all competing for two spots. One of them will play England next.
But on Sunday, as they bulldozed their way to a 10-wicket win with 62 balls to spare, they weren’t hugely fussed about the identity of either the venue or the opposition.
Last week, England were 46 minutes of Antiguan rain away from elimination. They then faced a second near-death experience as Australia laboured in their chase against Scotland. Defeat by South Africa on Friday in St Lucia, meanwhile, had removed the gloss from their impressive victory over West Indies two days earlier.
England thrashed the United States by 10 wickets to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals
Chris Jordan took four wickets in five balls, including a hat-trick, to dismiss the US for 115
Jos Buttler and Phil Salt then chased down the total in brutal fashion inside 10 overs
England have been more changeable than the weather in the Caribbean’s rainy season, yet here they are, able to sit back and watch others scramble to join them. For the first time in this World Cup, they have a little breathing space.
They didn’t need two remarkable individual performances to beat a game but limited USA side, but they got them anyway.
The Americans, put in to bat, had reached 115 for five with 13 deliveries to go when Sam Curran had Harmeet Singh caught by the tumbling Jordan at long-off. Then Jordan got to work with the ball, as the former New Zealand international Corey Anderson hit a full toss straight to Harry Brook at long-on.
Ali Khan narrowly survived being bowled first ball, but the USA’s respite was fleeting: Jordan knocked back Khan’s off stump with his next delivery, and produced another inducker to trap Nosthush Kenjige first ball. An inevitable review produced an equally inevitable three reds on DRS.
In front of a lively Kensington Oval crowd cheering a player they still consider their own, Jordan then found more lateral movement to take out Saurabh Netravalkar’s middle stump and complete England’s first hat-trick in T20 internationals. That completed a freakish collapse of five for none in six balls, and left Jordan - born in the next-door parish of Christ Church, and schooled at nearby Combermere - struggling to remove the smile from his face.
‘It was special to get that hat-trick in the place I was born and have played so much cricket, in front of my family and friends, with the atmosphere and the music going,’ he said.
Buttler played a starring role by hitting an astonishing 83 not out off just 38 balls
Buttler's stunning innings included five sixes in an over off the haplessHarmeet Singh
‘My family doesn’t get to travel the world and watch me play international cricket. To do it in front of them - my mum, dad, sister, brother-in-law and nephew - is right up there, and in a World Cup game to make sure we qualify.
‘We left England a few weeks ago to defend the title. There have been a few bumps along the way, but they’ve been good bumps, because they narrowed the focus and made our direction clear.’
Jordan had conceded 68 in six overs during England’s two underwhelming group-stage performances here against Scotland and Australia, but the struggles of Mark Wood, and the management’s change of emphasis from pace to nuance, meant a recall. He’ll be hard to shift now.
When it was their turn to bat, England’s first target was to dispose of their target of 116 in 18.4 overs or less, though Buttler’s brutality soon rendered that academic.
He warmed up with successive sixes in the third over of the chase off Netravalkar, then launched five sixes in five legitimate balls - separated by a wide - from Harmeet’s left-arm spin, damaging a pair of solar panels on the stadium roof in the process.
While Phil Salt looked on in admiration, Buttler finished with 83 off 38 balls, putting a lukewarm tournament behind him just in time for the knockouts.
‘It’s important to look after my own game as well,’ he said. ‘As much as you’re trying to be captain and have a broad view, I’m still one of 11: I’ve got to do my job.’
When Buttler carved the USA seamer Shadley van Schalkwyk behind point for the winning four, England had used only 9.4 of their 20-over allocation. It was a massacre, whichever way you looked at it.
Adil Rashid was again on fine form as he took two for 13 from four top quality overs in Barbados
But this was Jordan's day,on the island of his birth, as he took England's first ever T20 hat-trick
The heroics of Jordan and Buttler meant it was easy to overlook another world-class performance from Adil Rashid, who took two for 13 from his four overs and outwitted both Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar, the USA’s top-scorer, with pitch-perfect googlies.
Rashid has been England’s bowling banker in this tournament, taking nine wickets at 17 and conceding just 6.70 an over. Among team-mates, only Reece Topley has proved harder to hit. Wherever England play their semi-final, he ought to enjoy the conditions.
England, it is only fair to point out, are through to the last four with just one win out of three against Test-playing opposition, but ruthless displays against Oman, Namibia and the USA.
But that is how tournaments can work. And if they can turn it on against the big boys this week, they may leave the Caribbean still able to call themselves world champions.
