England will look to keep their 2024 T20 World Cup Super Eight hopes alive when they take on Namibia at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Heading into the final round of matches in the group stage, England are currently in third place with three points while Namibia are fourth and unable to qualify for the knockouts.
Match preview
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Namibia will take their final bow at the 2024 T20 World Cup this weekend, although they have left their mark on the competition, having played in the first T20 World Cup super over since the 2012 edition.
That nail-biter came in their opening match of the competition against Oman when both sides scored 109 before the Eagles secured an 11-run victory in the tie-breaking over, thanks to a stellar performance from David Wiese, who blasted 13* off four balls.
The Eagles put in another impressive performance in match two against Scotland, setting a defendable target of 156, but the Scots dominated from the off in their run chase and secured the points with 1.3 overs to spare.
While any lingering hopes of reaching the Super Eight were dashed by Australia in midweek, Namibia will have a chance to make the headlines once more by taking the defending champions out with them.
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Indeed, a defeat this weekend will mean that England will automatically exit a second consecutive World Cup competition in the group stage following their ODI World Cup disappointment in India last year.
After a no-result outcome in their opening match against Scotland and a heavy defeat to Australia in game two, England found themselves in a 'must-win by a big margin' situation against minnows Oman on Thursday.
Fortunately for the Three Lions, Adil Rashid (4/11), Jofra Archer (3/12) and Mark Wood (3/12) stepped up in a big way, sharing the wickets to bowl their opponents out for 47 runs in only 13.2 overs.
Jos Buttler then scored a quickfire 24 off eight balls to lead the side to victory in just 3.1 overs, giving their net run rate a massive boost from -1.800 to +3.081, significantly above Scotland's +2.164.
A victory this weekend for England will see them draw level on five points with the Scots, who face Australia on Sunday. Should both British teams end level on points, the side with the better net run rate will progress alongside the Baggy Greens to the Super Eight, meaning that Buttler and co will have to aim for another solid victory in this one.
Team News
Gerhard Erasmus has undoubtedly been the standout batsman for Namibia in this competition, top-scoring for the Eagles in the last two matches, while also starring in the super over against Oman in game one.
Wiese will undoubtedly be handed the new ball after taking the sole wicket against Australia, while medium-pacer Ben Shikongo could drop to the bench after a couple of poor showings.
Reece Topley was brought in to open the bowling for England against Oman, and while he was the only one to end wicketless, an economical 12 runs in three overs may have been good enough to retain his spot in the starting 11 for this crunch match.
Phil Salt has yet to find the sort of form he showed in the recently concluded Indian Premier League and will be champing at the bit to get some time in the centre in this one.
Namibia squad: Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut
England squad: England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
Series so far
Namibia
Match One: Namibia won the super over by 11 runs
Oman - 109 & 10/1
Namibia - 109/6 & 21/0
Match Two: Namibia lost by 5 wickets
Namibia - 155/9 (20)
Scotland 9 157/5 (18.3)
Match Three: Namibia lost by 9 wickets
Namibia - 72 (17)
Australia - 74/1 (5.4)
England
Match One: No Result
Match Two: England lost by 36 runs
Australia - 201/7 (20)
England - 165/6 (20)
Match Three: England won by eight wickets
Oman - 47 (13.2)
England - 50/2 (3.1)
We say: England to win
England should be too good for Namibia in this match and we feel they will secure a comfortable victory before the nerves really kick in, as they hope that the rain stays away and for Australia to do them a favour by beating Scotland.
Devesh Jaganath
