Scotland vs England had ended with visible angst on the face of Harry Brook as England won the T20 match by five wickets in Kolkata to stabilize the team in its T20 world cup. Although the scoreboard assured a relaxed pursuit with ten balls to spare, the truth was not as relaxed, and winning only helps to partially cover the verdicts that have characterized the tournament to date in England.
To begin with, the background of Scotland vs England rendered the competition important. England had already suffered by being scared by Nepal and a blow to the head by West Indies. This would have put their Super Eights prospects in danger. Rather, this win keeps the qualification at hand and the next opponent of Italy will play in the same venue.
Brook confessed later that perfection is simply as elusive as it is. I am only relieved that we got across the line, he said and admitted that England have not gone all the way through. The campaign was also characterized by displays of what he termed as niggly which takes a moment of promise and counters it with failures in performance.
Nonetheless, even in the state of panic, things went well. The highlight of them was the decisive innings of Tom Banton. Raised to No. 4 on account of modest returns in previous games, Banton contributed a well-composed but robust 63 no out of 41 balls. His mentality was quite practical. Instead of his familiar sweeps and reverse-sweeps, he used straight lines and percentage cricket, and played on a ground which did not favor extravagance.
The turning point in the match between Scotland and England was when Banton attacks the main spinner in Scotland Mark Watt. During a decisive stage, he sent 22 runs off the first over of Watt and won their head to head battle. And that sudden rush gave the wind in England.
I like to sweep and reverse, Banton thought, although I had intended to keep straight as possible. His clarity was in stark opposition to that of Scotland himself who could not bat when the time was right.
Scotland had previously reformed well following the initial successes made by Jofra Archer. A combination of 71 then prompted by Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce wrote a 71 run partnership over seven overs to take Scotland to 113 in 3 and threatened to go on to 170-plus. They seemed when they sat down on a surface on which smart rotation was rewarded.
But the innings crumbled soon. It was 113 to 3 and Scotland fell off to 152 all out with seven wickets gone at only 39. Our spinners in England did take advantage of over-ambitious hits with the cross-bat, and asserted five wickets at a crucial intermediate stage. Berrington subsequently acknowledged execution against spin had disappointed them especially when they laid a considerable foundation.
England did not have a perfect bowling performance. Adil Rashid had a chequered career with one over conceding 18 runs. Brook admitted that Scotland might well have advanced further than they did in 180 if they had better closed. By limiting them to 152, however, England left in charge an easy pursuit.
The other major optimistic in Scotland vs England was the revival of Jofra Archer. Archer discovered rhythm and control in Kolkata after spurting 90 of his first two matches. Bowling bowled at high speed and with a disciplined long length and 2 against 24, which meant he was harassing the top order of the Scotland team on the powerplay.
Brook was complimentary of the execution of Archer saying that his lines and lengths were bangered beautifully. As the Super Eights approaches, England will require Archer to be in his usual form.
Last but not least, there are more general implications of Scotland vs England. England had recorded a rather mixed record on European resistance in T20 World Cups, losing to the Netherlands and Ireland, and also faced previous exasperation by Scotland. This victory rectifies that story but fails to overwrite other underlying issues.
The approaching conflict in Italy has become that much more important. The qualification is not an impossible task, but England needs to revive the winning pace that brought them a 3-0 series victory recently in Sri Lanka. Even Brook himself confessed not knowing why he can no longer get such high numbers of performances since that time.
In the meantime, exaltation is more than genius. Scotland vs England was perhaps not perfect, but it brought things back on track and faith. Should England be able to carry this jittery victory through to reliable self-belief, then their war-work can still take the very speed on which it has not hitherto possessed.
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