The first of a three-part fightback must start here. Before England(Eng) can even indulge the unthinkable – rooting for Australia to take down Scotland by a sizeable enough margin to grant them sheepish passage into the Super Eights – they must hold up their end of this monkey-paw deal with NRR-boosting victories over Oman(Omn) and Namibia. Simple enough in the spreadsheets.
England(ENG) are in a precarious position as they need to win both their remaining 2 games in the group stage to advance to the Super 8.England(Eng) have a huge task on their hands as they are set to lock horns with Oman in the T20 World Cup 2024 Group B clash on Friday, June 14 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. Jos Buttler’s men, placed fourth in the table, cannot afford more slip-ups as they need 2 outright wins to have any chance of qualifying for the Super 8.
ENG vs OMN Previous matches
Jos Buttler’s men, placed fourth in the table, cannot afford more slip-ups as they need 2 outright wins to have any chance of qualifying for the Super 8.
Moreover, they also need to take care of their net run rate, which is currently at -1.800 following their 36-run defeat to Mitchell Marsh’s Australia. The Three Lions will also look up the match between Scotland and Australia on June 16. If the Aussies lose to the Scots, England will be knocked out of the competition regardless of the results in their last 2 matches.
England’s bowling hasn’t been at its best by any means. After failing to pick up a single wicket against Scotland, they leaked over 200 runs against Australia. Adil Rashid, currently the No.1 ranked bowler in T20Is, has picked up only 1 wicket and has leaked runs at an economy rate of 11.16.
Oman, on the other hand, have not been at their best under their new skipper, Aqib Ilyas. Having lost all 3 of their matches, they will be playing for pride. With England set to come out all guns blazing, Oman are likely to find themselves in more trouble in their last group match.
ENG vs OMN Head to Head
England and Oman are yet to lock horns at the international level.
ENG vs OMN Pitch Report
The pitch in Antigua has been excellent for batting. Batters are also expected to find it easier in their run-chase. However, spinners are most likely to extract something out of the surface. Both matches went in favour of the chasing teams and hence, teams should opt to field first after winning the toss.
The two matches played at North Sound so far have both been one-sided, which makes judging the surface a little harder. The ball has carried through well, and batters’ intent does bring rewards, but the wind is a big factor here. Much like in Bridgetown, it goes across the ground and is more forceful given the openness of this venue. The forecast looks good, with intermittent cloud cover and an afternoon high of 30 degrees Celsius.
ENG vs OMN Big Picture England – what have you got
The first of a three-part fightback must start here. Before England can even indulge the unthinkable – rooting for Australia to take down Scotland by a sizeable enough margin to grant them sheepish passage into the Super Eights – they must hold up their end of this monkey-paw deal with NRR-boosting victories over Oman and Namibia. Simple enough in the spreadsheets.
That Oman come first on Thursday is welcome. Three games in, they look a team on the wane, one stretched to their limits after two solid showings. A valiant Super Over defeat to Namibia and a solid start with the ball against Australia gave way to a listless display against Scotland.
The 19th-ranked team in the world are currently number one as far as drops go – a total of eight putting them bottom on the catching front in the T20 World Cup. Captain Aqib Ilyas also lamented the number of dot balls faced on Sunday, which resulted in a score of 150 for 7, which Scotland knocked off with seven wickets and all of 6.5 overs to spare.
Form does not quite go out the window for their meeting with England, no matter how much introspection the defending champions have indulged since Saturday’s defeat to Australia. And it is Oman’s tentativeness with the bat that will give Jos Buttler’s bowlers the belief they can make amends for two less-than-convincing outings.
Buttler has put on a cheerier front this week, discarding the sterner visage he had adopted at the start of the T20 World Cup. ICC competitions demand a lot from captains when it comes to media engagements, and Buttler’s lack of enthusiasm for such duties is nothing new. So, it is fair to assume his new tact is an attempt to channel more favorable chi.
The proximity to the 2023 ODI World Cup failure makes comparisons unavoidable, and the inability to call an audible in the field against Australia speaks to similar errors in planning. David Warner and Travis Head kiboshed a prepared plan of straight lines and length from the quicks, peppering the short boundary early on. Only Jofra Archer had the wherewithal – and skill – to make adjustments, leaning on cutters to emerge relatively unscathed with an economy rate of seven. The gut feel on Will Jacks for the second over was probably indigestion.
That Australia’s pace attack took cues from Archer means analyzing England’s one batting innings in two weeks is a little pointless. The collective 77 from 66 balls managed by batters three to seven was far from ideal, but understandable given the pace-off, Adam Zampa-led squeeze after Buttler and Phil Salt’s opening stand of 73. Nevertheless, improvements need to be made by the individuals – particularly Jonny Bairstow, who struck 7 from 12 deliveries before tamely hoicking one in the air – by any means necessary.
There is a sense, however, that this group – even those, like Bairstow, who were on deck for last winter’s debacle in India – have their heads well and truly in the game. Their 2022 success was ultimately forged by a similar fightback following defeat to Ireland and a washout against Australia. Though there is a little less in their control this time around, they will look to emerge from the corner for what will be a defining four days for this iteration of English white-ball cricket.
ENG vs OMN In the spotlight – Harry Brook and Aqib Ilyas
His party trick of bowling offspin to left-handers and leg breaks to right-handers has been effective enough. He started economically across the first two matches at Bridgetown, particularly with his 0 for 18 from four overs against Australia. But there was a rude awakening at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium when his three overs were taken for 41.
ENG vs OMN Vital Stats and trivia
- This is the first meeting between England and Oman in a full international fixture
- Despite playing 13 times at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, including twice during December’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean, this will be England’s first T20I at the venue. They played here twice during the 2007 ODI World Cup, against Sri Lanka and Australia, losing both.
- Zeeshan Maqsood needs two more wickets to become the second Oman player with 50 T20I wickets after Bilal Khan
ENG vs OMN Probable Playing XI
England: Jos Buttler (c & wk.), Philip Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Oman: Naseem Khushi, Pratik Athavale (wk.), Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Mehran Khan, Rafiullah, Shakeel Ahmed, Kaleemullah/Fayyaz Butt, Bilal Khan
ENG vs OMN Fantasy XI : Jos Buttler (c & wk.), Philip Salt, Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Aqib Ilyas, Zeeshan Maqsood, Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah
ENG vs OMN Top Batters
Aqib IIyas to be Oman’ top batter
One of the biggest reasons for Oman’s struggle in this tournament is the fact their batsmen have failed to turn up in the first three matches and even though Aqib Ilyas did not have a great outing in the last game, he has been pretty consistent for Oman this year which which makes him our top pick in the upcoming game.
Jos Buttler to be England’s top batter
England would be looking at their skipper for some inspiration as the England batsman failed to show up in the last game against Australia. Jos Buttler has looked great against Pakistan prior to the tournament and we expect him to step up in the upcoming game which makes him our top pick in the upcoming game.
ENG vs OMN Top Bowlers
Mehran Khan to be Oman’ top bowler
Mehran Khan did not have a great outing against Scotland still we are going to stick with him once again as he has been the shining light for Oman in this tournament and has been consistent for them throughout this year. Khan has already bagged six wickets in three matches which makes him our top pick in the upcoming game.
Mark Wood to be England’s top bowler
England bowlers had a no show against Australia as Aussies scored 201 runs in 20 overs and even though Mark Wood did not have a great outing in the last game we are going to stick with him as his pace can cause havoc against Oman which makes him our top pick in the upcoming game.
ENG vs OMN Match Prediction
Even though Oman have not bagged a single point thus far, they have performed well in both games against Namibia and Australia. In the last game they got outplayed by Scotland. Scotland managed to chase down the target of 151 in the 14th over and eventually won the game with seven wickets to spare.
England could not have hoped for a worst possible title defence as they are winless after two matches and are on a brink of elimination. England cannot afford to drop any more points in the last two matches. In the last game they got outplayed by Australia who won the game by 36 runs. As per the calculations, England are favourites in the upcoming game.
- Oman’ chances of winning – 3%
- England’ chances of winning – 97%