England thrashed already-eliminated Oman in 19 balls on Thursday to win its T20 World Cup clash in Antigua by eight wickets and keep alive its hopes of reaching the Super Eight stage.
Having won the toss and opted to bowl with the run rate in mind, the holder made a speedy start at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium as Oman was skittled out for 47 in 13.2 overs — the fourth lowest total in T20 World Cup history.
Group B Points Table after ENG vs OMAN
Spinner Adil Rashid took four wickets for 11 runs off his four overs while Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, the latter chalking up his 50th T20 international wicket, bagged three each for 12 runs apiece.
England came out in a hurry and Phil Salt hit the first two balls for sixes before being bowled with the third, Bilal Khan’s delivery deflecting off the inside edge and onto the wicket.
Will Jacks then went for five, caught by Kashyap Prajapati off Kaleemullah and England was 20-2 after two overs before Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow got the job done in 3.1 overs.
England vs Oman highlights
England’s Group B opener against Scotland was washed out and a loss to Australia meant it had to win its remaining two matches to move level on points with the Scots, who had a significantly superior net run-rate.
“We had a point to prove after the last couple of games,” said Wood.