A ruthlessly efficient England gave their hopes of progressing in the T20 World Cup a major boost with an emphatic thrashing of Oman in Antigua.
The defending champions, who would have been knocked out by defeat, dismissed Oman for only 47 and raced to their target in just 3.1 overs in one of the most one-sided matches seen at a World Cup.
It significantly improves their net run-rate and means they will qualify for the Super 8s if they beat Namibia on Saturday and Scotland lose to Australia later that day.
Jofra Archer and Mark Wood tore through the Oman line-up with their pace while Adil Rashid bamboozled with his leg-spin for 4-12.
Rashid, like Archer, took a wicket in his first over, while Wood managed two. England’s two quicks both claimed 3-12.
Phil Salt hit the first two balls of the chase for six before being bowled, while Will Jacks fell swinging in the second over as England chased a rapid victory.
Captain Jos Buttler pressed on to finish 24 not out from eight balls and complete the quickest run chase in T20 World Cup history which ignites his side’s campaign.
England had made a stumbling start to their World Cup defence since arriving in the Caribbean, with a washout against Scotland followed by a heavy defeat by Australia.
They could not have dreamt of a better response than a win in just one hour and 42 minutes.
Buttler’s side went into the final two games needing big victories to first draw level with Scotland and then overhaul their net run-rate.
In the end, they did the latter part of that equation in one emphatic blow.
The opposition were poor – Oman, ranked 19th in the world, blown away by Wood and Archer’s pace and Rashid’s skill – but England were excellent.
Buttler, after two difficult games, captained well by keeping on his strike bowlers to never allow the pressure to be released.
When it came to the chase, they knew wickets were effectively irrelevant and had to chase the score in 32 balls to take their net run-rate above Scotland’s.
Having done so in 19, there remains work to do but England will go into a match against Namibia, who were bowled out for 72 by Australia on Tuesday, as huge favourites.
Win that and all they will need is a helping hand from their Ashes rivals.
The match began with an over which cost one run from Reece Topley, brought into the team for Chris Jordan, which give little hint of the carnage to come.
Archer started with a wide but had Pratik Athavale caught at cover with his second legitimate delivery, and in his next over Oman captain Aqib Ilyas was taken at backward point.
Wood’s first ball was hit for six against Australia but here Zeeshan Masood chipped a catch back on one before Kashyap Prajapati lobbed a quick ball to mid-wicket from the final ball of his opening over.
From there Rashid joined the action.
Khalid Kail was stumped, Mehran Khan caught at slip and tailenders Fayyaz Butt and Kaleemullah bowled by the googly.
Only one Oman batter, Shoaib Khan with 11, made double figures. They only just managed to pass the record low total at a T20 World Cup of 39.
England’s only blemish was a dropped catch by Moeen Ali off left-hander Zeeshan which ultimately did not matter.
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‘The bowlers set the tone’ – what they said
England captain Jos Buttler: “I thought the tone was set really well by the bowlers, picking up the early wickets. Job done today, another big game in two days’ time.”
Oman captain Aqib Ilyas: “We couldn’t do well in the batting, it was a big collapse. Overall we couldn’t do much.
“There are still many positives and you just have to get better and better. Once in a year you play against bowlers doing 150-plus [km/h] with a top fielding side.
“When you come across such top players you get to learn and know where you stand.”
