England will face the United State of America in the 49th game of the ongoing T20 World Cup at Barbados on 23rd of June.
Team overview:
After securing a miraculous entrance to the Super Eight, England made a thumping start as they beat the co-host West Indies in their first encounter. However, they failed to replicate the same performance against the unbeaten and high-flying South Africa.
After winning the toss England opted to bowl first and restricted South Africa to a modest total of 163 in 20 overs. It was expected that England would easily gun down the target since they chased down 180 against the mighty West Indies. Nevertheless, they failed to cross the winning line losing the game by 7 runs.
However, there were positives for the English side as Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone put in a great partnership after the top-order cut a sorry figure. Brook scored 53 off 37 while Livingstone chipped in with 33 off just 17.
England were in need of 14 off the last over after both Brook and Livingstone were dismissed in quick succession and the captain and management decided to trust Sam Curran and Jofra Archer. One must ask if they could have promoted Mark Wood instead of sending Archer. Wood has the reputation of hitting unorthodox shots under the pump, right? What do you think?
Jofra had a poor outing with the bowl as he was tonked for 40 runs in 4 overs. Whereas Adil Rashid was impressive with his spin as he conceded only 20 runs in 4 overs and took one wicket.
Although England lost to South Africa in their recent encounter, that did not dent their NRR much so an emphatic win against the USA will keep the Three Lions in the hunt for the semi-final spot.
The USA are yet to win a game after they upset Pakistan in the Group stage. But they have shown impressive and laudable performances in the tournament so far.
Although the bowlers were poor against South Africa, the batters did a pretty nice job albeit failed to achieve the main goal – crossing the winning line.
USA also suffered a defeat against the co-host West Indies. None other than Andries Gous could face the wayward bowling unit of the West Indies side. The USA side could only rack up a total of 128 in 19.5 overs. And the bowling unit wasn’t composed either as the Maroon caps achieved the total in just 10.5 overs, collecting their first victory in the Super Eight.
Although the USA has only won two games, they will have nothing to lose when they face England on 23rd June. Thus far, the USA team has surprised everyone with their aggressive style of play.
Remember England lost to Ireland in the last edition of the T20 World Cup. An upset is unlikely but a victory for the Aaron Jones side can shake up things for the defending champions. An upset would be interesting in the context of the tournament, too!
Pitch and weather conditions:
The pitch will provide assistance to both batters and bowlers as we have seen in the recent encounters. It is the most balanced venue as compared to the rest of the venues. A team who wins the toss will look to field first.
Head-to-head record:
The upcoming encounter will be the inaugural meeting between the said nations.
Predictions:
The defending champions England are favourites to win this clash.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
