England made it two wins from two in Super 12 Group 1 at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, with Jason Roy starring with the bat after another fine team bowling performance. And it’s history for Namibia as they beat Scotland in their first game of the Super 12 phase. Here are Talking Points from the game.
BANGLADESH v ENGLAND
Roy hits his stride
Jason Roy was one of the concerns for England going into the tournament, with his patchy form and historic struggles on slower surfaces a potential issue at the top of the order.
But Roy has clearly been working extremely hard on taking down spin, and his innings to get England within touching distance of the target was a magnificent display of power-hitting, and a very timely one for his team’s World Cup chances.
“[Playing spin] is a part of my game that’s improved a lot,” Roy said after being named Player of the Match. “Today was a big test, so I had to use all the skills I’ve learned.”
Roy rarely felt out of control in his knock of 61 off 37, but nevertheless maintained aggression throughout while displaying the wide array of strokes he has at his disposal.
Everything is going to plan so far for the world’s top-ranked T20I side.
Mahmud Ullah’s Achilles’ heel
If you’re batting with Mahmud Ullah it’s best to be alert. The Bangladesh skipper is one of the most experienced T20 international players in the world. But one thing the 35-year-old appears to have never truly got to grips with is running between the wickets.
Mahmud Ullah held his head in his hands after running out Afif Hossain in the 13th over, and England could have had a hat-trick of run-outs in that over, such was the chaotic decision-making of the players at the crease.
Mahmud Ullah has now been involved in 25 run-outs in 91 T20I innings.
That means he’s involved in a run-out a quarter of the times he’s in the middle for Bangladesh in the format, and it also makes him comfortably the worst offender in the history of T20I cricket.
Moeen and Woakes on song
England’s decision to go into the World Cup with a batting-heavy XI in the absence of Ben Stokes and Sam Curran was a gamble, but so far the bowlers have held up their end of the bargain against West Indies and Bangladesh. And much of the credit for that should go to the Powerplay duo of Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.
England’s selection of four out-and-out bowlers plus Ali and Liam Livingstone puts huge pressure on those two spinning all-rounders, but the former has been particularly magnificent through the Powerplay in both games, taking 4-35 in seven overs up top so far in the tournament – numbers that take huge pressure off his captain and the other players in the attack.
Moeen didn’t play a single T20 fixture on the tour of India earlier in 2021, and for long parts of the build-up to this tournament looked to be outside of England’s first-choice XI. But right now the all-rounder is very much a key cog in Eoin Morgan’s machine.
The return of Woakes to the England T20 set-up is more striking. The 32-year-old must have thought his international career was over in the format after going over five years without an appearance prior to this summer, a run that dated back to before the last World Cup.
But his impact with the new ball in this tournament so far has been impressive, with Woakes keeping things extremely tight early in the innings, going at just four runs an over across the two matches so far.
History for Namibia
The first World Cup appearance for Namibia has gone superbly so far, with the African nation making it through Round One at the expense of Ireland and the Netherlands, and now recording a famous win in the Super 12 stage.
They made hard work of chasing down 110 to beat Scotland, but a victory on the biggest stage is a wonderful story for a country that is a rising force in the game.
It is credit to Namibia that they delivered in the Super 12 fixture that they would have targeted before the start of the group, and now Gerhard Erasmus and his side can go out and enjoy themselves in the remaining four games against the higher-ranked teams in the group.
For Scotland, defeat in this game following on from the crushing loss to Afghanistan has been a tough start to the Super 12.
One more win in the tournament would still make it a successful outing for the Scots, but it’s New Zealand, India and Pakistan still to come for Kyle Coetzer and his side, so they’ll have their work cut out.
Watt threatens again
Mark Watt has been impressive throughout the tournament with the ball for Scotland and he did all he could to keep Namibia from reaching their modest target.
Watt was the threat, Namibia knew that, and a sign of their respect for him was how conservatively they approached his overs, looking to survive his set and go after the rest of the Scotland attack.
The spinner finished with 1/22 off his four overs.
Best opening over ever?
Namibia took control of the match right from the very start, with Ruben Trumpelmann delivering one of the most dramatic first overs in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Danger-man George Munsey fell to the first ball of the innings, beaten for pace by Trumpelmann and chopping onto his own stumps. And Namibia’s decision to play the trump card first up paid even further dividends when Calum MacLeod was caught behind off the third legitimate ball of the over.
But Trumpelmann saved the best for last, trapping Richie Berrington in front with a peach of an inswinger, meaning he had removed three of Scotland’s top four for ducks inside the first over.
Trumpelmann’s teammates converged on him at the end of the over, with the score 2/3 and Scotland’s only runs coming from wides. Ultimately Scotland never recovered.
(Source and courtesy: https://www.t20worldcup.com/)