Match report
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That’s it from me. This World Cup, which doesn’t waste any time, continues this afternoon with its biggest match yet, New Zealand v South Africa, while the England-Scotland rivalry switches to Murrayfield. Do join Daniel Gallan for that one around 4pm GMT. Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on Harry Brook’s shot selection, and I hope the rest of your Valentine’s Day is a bed of roses.
Atherton has a word with both captains. “We’ve absolutely loved our time here,” says Richie Berrington, sportingly. “We’ve had a lot of support and the Indian hospitality has been fantastic.”
“I’m just glad that we got over the line,” says Harry Brook. “We were over the moon [to restrict Scotland to 152]… Jofra was slamming a length again. Tom Banton was awesome, loves to take down the spinners like he did today.” Was he concerned when both openers were out early? “Not really, I’ve always got confidence [in the middle order]. With this outfield, we knew we didn’t need to take too many unnecessary risks… Bants played it beautifully.
He admits that “we haven’t quite played the perfect game yet.” He can say that again. Atherton asks him why, given that England came into the tournament on the back of a good run. “I’m not quite sure, to be honest.”
Sure enough, Tom Banton is the Player of the Match. He, more than anyone on either side, saw the need to play straight: he kept drilling the ball back past the bowler, who was usually the unfortunate Watt.
“If I can win games for England,” Banton tells Mike Atherton, “that’s amazing.”
England avoided embarrassment, but they didn’t do much for their net run rate. It’s still in the red, stuck on minus 0.143, way behind West Indies (1.625). Scotland’s is actually better than England’s – plus 0.359. It’s a funny old game.
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England’s bowlers, led by Jofra Archer, were all good, though a few of them were not at all good at first. The batting was hit and miss, with some big names, including the captain Harry Brook, showing no sign that they’d noticed the Scots getting out to cross-bat shots. But Tom Banton was excellent, seeing them home with an unbeaten 63 and putting together assured partnerships with Jacob Bethell (32) and Sam Curran (28). The Man of the Match award will surely go to Banton, ahead of Adil Rashid, who took 3-36.
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ENGLAND WIN WITH TEN BALLS TO SPARE (155-5)
Will Jacks wraps it up with a six and a four off Wheal. England (155-5, Banton 63, Jacks 16) win by five wickets, with ten balls to spare. They go second in the group, displacing Scotland, who were brave, maybe too brave.
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18th over: England 145-5 (Banton 63, Jacks 5) Berrington risks another over of Watt’s slow left-arm. He bowls quicker, but to no avail: Banton drills him for another straight four. When he drops his pace, watt deceives Will Jacks and almost has him caught, but the fielder can’t get there and that is Scotland’s last hope gone.
17th over: England 137-5 (Banton 57, Jacks 4) Well done Brad Wheal, who was thrifty early on and struck instantly on his return. He has shown that even in T20 there’s still a place for our old friends, line and length. But that stand between Banton and Curran was a good one, both measured and rapid, adding 46 off 33 balls. Now Banton has to finish the job.
WICKET! Curran c Cross b Wheal 28 (England 132-5)
Here we go again! Curran has played the cross-bat shots better than anyone, but now he skies one and it’s a simple catch for a man wearing a large pair of gloves.
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16th over: England 132-4 (Banton 57, Curran 28) Mark Watt bowled only one of the first 15 overs, and it went for 22. Now he comes back and England help themselves to another 13, with Curran pulling over long-on for six and through midwicket for four.
England need only 21 off 24 balls. They can’t mess this up, can they?
15th over: England 119-4 (Banton 56, Curran 16) Michael Leask bowls his final over and drops too short, allowing Curran to produce his first firework – a pull for six. Ten off the over, so the rate required is down to 6.8. Scotland simply have to get rid of Banton – and Curran too.
Meanwhile Mark Hooper is pondering the demise of Harry Brook. “I’m generally a fan of the ‘don’t die wondering’ approach,” he says, “but when the question is ‘I wonder if I’ll get out playing the same shot too?’ sometimes it’s best not to find out in a World Cup.” True. (And thank you for the single quotes, a big help.)
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Fifty to Banton!
14th over: England 109-4 (Banton 54, Curran 8) Berrington takes Davidson off (2-0-12-1) and goes back to Brad Currie, who shone early on with his left-arm swing. No swing now, and the keeper, Matthew Cross, stands up to him, as he did to McMullen. Banton hits him very straight for four to reach a fine fifty, the first of the day, off only 33 balls.
At drinks, England need 44 off six overs, while Scotland need a good old England collapse.
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13th over: England 102-4 (Banton 48, Curran 7) Curran has seen plenty of slow bowling – and big grounds, and tight corners – at the IPL. He’s working the ball into the gaps, but Leask is bowling well and manages a couple of dots. Five off the over: 51 needed off the last seven.
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12th over: England 97-4 (Banton 46, Curran 4) Sensible stuff from these two batters: a two and a single apiece, so that’s six from Davidson’s over with no risks taken.
“Is nothing sacred?” asks Adam Foster in Helsinki. “After a long walk on a mild winter day here (-17), I thought I could trust England to handle 150 and enjoy a quiet pint with my book while casually checking the score. No chance…”
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11th over: England 91-4 (Banton 43, Curran 1) Sam Curran is in form, after being the boy on the burning deck against West Indies. Banton is that boy now. They need to steady the ship while scoring at a run a ball. It should be eminently possible, but …
WICKET! Brook c Wheal b Leask 4 (England 87-4)
And there’s the second wicket in succession. Harry Brook, after seeing so many players perish to cross-bat shots, decides to play another one. It’s that flick-sweep of his that he plays when falling over. Like so much of his batting at big moments, it’s fearless but also clueless.
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10th over: England 82-3 (Banton 38, Brook 1) Just before the wicket, Oliver Davidson took some pieces of paper out of his pocket and studied them. He’s looking at them again now as he heads into the deep with a prime scalp in the bag.
At the Bon Jovi stage of the innings, England are more than halfway there, but it still feels dicey.
WICKET! Bethell c Wheal b Davidson 32 (England 79-3)
And here is one of those wickets. “Unforced error,” says Eoin Morgan, as Bethell goes down to sweep the slow left-armer Davidson and can’t get the ball over the man at short fine leg. It certainly feels like a big moment.
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9th over: England 76-2 (Bethell 32, Banton 33) England need a big over. Banton senses it and delivers with three sixes! He goes down the track twice to meet the pitch of the ball and loft it straight, then rocks back to pull. He also misses a slog-sweep and comes close to being stumped, but that’s 22 from the over and suddenly the rate required is down to seven. This partnership has been racing along at nine (63 from seven overs). England need 77 from the last 11 overs; Scotland need a couple of quick wickets.
8th over: England 54-2 (Bethell 32, Banton 12) Wheal continues, so Berrington, unlike Brook, is mixing spin and seam. This nearly pays off as Bethell cloths a pull just short of the man at mid-on, set deep on the edge of the ring. At the end of the over, Bethell goes on the pull again, and misses. If there was a senior batter at the other end, he might be having a quiet word. Excellent over from Wheal, who has 2-0-8-0.
7th over: England 52-2 (Bethell 31, Banton 11) It’s time for some spin, with Michael Leask’s off-breaks. And it’s time for Tom Banton, whose ability against spin got a plug from Harry Brook at the toss, to show his mettle. He goes on the attack, dancing down the pitch to slog to midwicket – ugly but effective. Nine off the over, a strong start against the slow stuff.
6th over: England 43-2 (Bethell 28, Banton 5) Richie Berrington makes his first bowling change, replacing the swing of Currie (2-0-14-1) with the seam of Brad Wheal. He starts well, going for no boundaries and beating Bethell outside off.
The powerplay ends with Scotland the happier of the two camps. Their batters either got going smoothly or didn’t get going at all, and the same has been true of England so far. They need 110 runs off 84 balls; Scotland need eight wickets.
5th over: England 37-2 (Bethell 23, Banton 4) Berrington gives McMullen a third over, understandably, but it goes pear-shaped as Jacob Bethell hits him for six, four, four with a pull, a dab and a cut. Cometh the hour, cometh the young man with a cool temperament.
4th over: England 21-2 (Bethell 7, Banton 4) In four overs, the only boundary has been from a ball that dribbled away for five wides (because the swing beat the keeper). The run rate required isn’t too daunting – 8.25 an over – but England need to get going right now.
3rd over: England 16-2 (Bethell 5, Banton 1) Another good over from Brandon McMullen, who has the whip hand at the moment over Brendon McCullum. In the powerplay, on a bouncy track, England’s top order should be hitting sixes. Instead they’re scraping the odd single as they struggle to steady the ship.
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2nd over: England 13-2 (Bethell 3, Banton 0) It could have been even worse. Brad Currie – tall, left-arm, swinging the ball in to the right-hander, away from the left – went up for LBW first ball, but Buttler was saved by an inside edge. Next time he was on strike, Buttler went down the track to stifle the swing and clip for two to midwicket. That made 4000 runs in T20i for him, the fourth-most in the world behind Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Not sure what Babar is doing in that company! Buttler is probably England’s best-ever white-ball player, but now he’s gone and of their three experienced batters, only Curran is left to get them to a target that suddenly looks far away.
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WICKET! Buttler c McMullen b Currie 3 (England 13-2)
Buttler’s big day is ruined by a mishit and a great catch! McMullen, running back from mid-off, makes it look easy and the collapse is on.
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1st over: England 4-1 (Buttler 0, Bethell 2) The Scots open with the ploy that won the Ashes for Australia – medium-fast bowling with the keeper standing up – and it proves too much for Phil Salt, who had started promisingly with a force for two. Brandon McMullen nearly grabs a second scalp as Jacob Bethell starts with a play-and-miss before clipping off his pads for two more. Jos Buttler, in his 150th T20 international. hasn’t faced a ball yet.
WICKET!!! Salt c Bruce b McMullen 2 (England 2-1)
Here we go! Phil Salt, England’s firestarter, goes up in flames with a chip to cover.
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Scotland the too brave?
Four of the Scots did really well – Jones at the top with 33 off 20, Berrington and Bruce with their rocking partnership of 71 off 41, and Davidson with 20 off 15 at the death. The problem was that nobody else reached double figures, and they kept getting out the same way, showing more courage than guile, picking out a deep fielder with a cross-bat shot. If England learn from that, they should win this.
All five bowlers got wickets, with Jofra Archer setting the tone with two in three balls. He and Jamie Overton went for only a run a ball. Curran, Rashid and Dawson all took some punishment before using their experience to bite back. CricViz gives England a 76pc chance of a win, but then they always have a collapse up their sleeve.
WICKET! Currie run out 2 (Scotland 152 all out)
The duel is won by Curran, who brings out his slower balls, goes for two singles off three balls, and sows enough anxiety to prompt a mix-up off the fourth ball.
19th over: Scotland 150-9 (Davidson 19, Currie 1) It’s an expert over from Jamie Overton, starting with a wicket, continuing with three dots and just a couple of singles. Just the one over left, and it’s shaping as a duel between Oliver Davidson and Sam Curran – brawn v brain, big hits v crafty variation, raw power v IPL experience.
WICKET! Wheal c Jacks b Overton 2 (Scotland 148-9)
Yet another catch in the deep.
18th over: Scotland 148-8 (Davidson 18, Wheal 2) This over had to be Sam Curran, the only bowler with two overs left. Say what you like about Brook, he can do the maths. Curran comes bearing yorkers and the odd slow bouncer but Davidson is equal to both, top-edging for four and reverse-ramping for four more.
We have an email from the ground! “Lovely afternoon in Kolkata. Lived in the city for more than 20 years,” says Paul Walsh. “Great to get an invite to watch from a Corporate Box today, no harm in a bit of luxury. Just my host forgot to tell me it was the Cricket Scotland box... and I turned up in my England football shirt. Hahaha... just little uncomfortable!!!! You might see me hiding in the back behind a load of Scotland flags.” We’ll keep an eye out.
17th over: Scotland 138-8 (Davidson 9, Wheal 1) With the spinners done, Brook brings back Archer, who proved too hot to handle with the new ball. Scotland are desperately seeking some big hits and Oliver Davidson delivers with a lusty pull for six. Jofra still finishes with 4-0-24-2: as with Rashid, form is temporary, class is permanent.
16th over: Scotland 127-8 (Davidson 1) Another over goes for just two runs – and two wickets this time. After a rocky start, Rashid showed his class: 2-0-25-0 in his first spell, 2-0-11-3 thereafter.
WICKET! Watt b Rashid 2 ( Scotland 127-8)
You know those magnificent collapses that England go in for? Well, Scotland too can play that game. Mark watt leaves the gate open and Rashid spins his leg-break straight through it.
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WICKET! Cross c Banton b Rashid 8 (Scotland 126-7)
They’ve done it again! Yet another Scotsman plops the ball straight to a fielder in the deep. This time it’s the keeper, Matthew Cross, who played one fine shot.
15th over: Scotland 125-6 (Cross 8, Watt 1) That’s an immense over from Dawson – one wicket and only two singles. He finishes with 4-0-34-2. off the last two and a half overs, Scotland have managed only 12 for 3.
I’d been wondering when we would hear from the great Simon McMahon. This is may be the first email I’ve had from him that doesn’t contain the word Tannadice. “Today could be one of the greatest days in Scottish sporting history,” he says. “It could also, and probably more likely will be, one of the worst. But hey, it’s only sport, isn’t it? Which means we’re all winners, right? Though some are more winners than others...”
WICKET! Leask c Curran b Dawson 1 (Scotland 124-6)
Dawson deceives Leask, whose airy flick beats one fielder (Archer) but lands snugly in the hands of another (Curran). England on top again.
14th over: Scotland 123-5 (Leask 1, Cross 7) So Brook went back to spin at both ends and it worked a treat. Now he gives Rashid a slip,. encouraging the leg-break. It’s looking like an immaculate over until Matthew Cross plays a resounding sweep for four. The Scots can still dream of reaching 180.
WICKET! Berrington LBW b Rashid 49 (115-5)
Rashid returns and goes straight to his strong point, the googly. Berrington misses, the finger goes up, Berrington reviews, the ball is only brushing leg stump but that means umpire’s call and goodnight Richie. The end of a captain’s innings – no fifty but a very fine 49 off 32 balls, with five fours and two handsome sixes.
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13th over: Scotland 115-4 (Berrington 49, Leask 1) Dawson had just been belted over his shoulder for another six by Berrington, so that was a great retort. But what a good partnership – 71 off only 6.5 overs, and they came together with Scotland in trouble.
England have one over to go from Dawson, two from Rashid and Curran, and one each from Archer and Overton. Doesn’t look as if Brook fancies his part-timers on this trampoline.
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WICKET! Bruce c Curran b Dawson 24 (Scotland 113-4)
It’s not the big one, but it’ll do! Bruce goes for the slog-sweep, doesn’t get hold of it and picks out Sam Curran at deep square.
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12th over: Scotland 105-3 (Berrington 41, Bruce 23) Brook goes from spin at both ends to seam at both ends. Overton returns and Bruce plays a lovely lofted glide to the backward-point boundary. Brook now has only one over from Overton (3-0-21-0) up his sleeve, and, more importantly, only one from Archer (3-0-13-2).
11th over: Scotland 97-3 (Berrington 39, Bruce 17) At moments like this, when the pressure is on, the fielding captain needs to be in control, or at least give that impression. Whether Harry Brook has that quality, we still don’t know. But his latest move goes OK: he takes Rashid off and brings back Curran, who concedes six singles (and a wide) and avoids further carnage. For his next trick, Brook has to get rid of Berrington.
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10th over: Scotland 90-3 (Berrington 36, Bruce 14) Dawson does well for a few balls, either firing it into the pads or going slower and wider outside off. But then he falls apart, giving Berrington a long hop that is pulled straight back past him, and a full one that’s swept for four. Berrington has 36 off only 23 balls, and at the halfway mark he has brought his team right back into it.
9th over: Scotland 77-3 (Berrington 25, Bruce 13) Do you remember when an over from Rashid went for 24 against West Indies? The Scots seem to, because they’ve just taken 18 off this one. Berrington starts with a pull for four, then both batters hit a straight drive for six that may soon be seen in their highlights reel. Game on!
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8th over: Scotland 59-3 (Berrington 14, Bruce 6) Liam Dawson is on too, so it’s senior spin from both ends and the youngest of the four protagonists is Tom Bruce, born 34 years ago in Te Kuiti, New Zealand. Berrington, using the crease well, steps away to thump Dawson to the cover boundary.
7th over: Scotland 50-3 (Berrington 9, Bruce 2) As Adil Rashid comes on, Scotland’s supporting cast rise to the challenge. Berrington plays a lap for four, there are four singles, and the only scare is an LBW shout as Berrington misses the googly, but it’s going down the leg side.
6th over: Scotland 42-3 (Berrington 3, Bruce 0) Sam Curran nearly always makes things happen: in this case, three successive boundaries and a big, big wicket. So the powerplay ends with England well on top. Jones has shown that there are plenty of runs in this bouncy pitch, but somebody else is going to have to make most of them.
WICKET! Jones c Bethell b Curran 33 (Scotland 42-3)
The big one! Jones flays Curran’s first three balls for four, four and six, then fatally fails to middle a slower ball.
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5th over: Scotland 28-2 (Jones 19, Berrington 3) Another good over from Archer, just three from it. The new batter, Richie Berrington, is the oldest player in the match – at 38 and three-quarters he’s even older than Adil Rashid, who turns 38 on Tuesday.
4th over: Scotland 25-2 (Jones 18, Berrington 1) Encouraged by those scalps, Harry Brook keeps Jamie Overton on. That’s fine by Michael Jones, who is already playing a lone hand. He flicks a yorker for four, then takes a couple of singles. He has 18 off 14 balls, while his team-mates have mustered only 5 off 10.
3rd over: Scotland 18-2 (Jones 12, Berrington 0) Jofra Archer hadn’t been on form, but he is now. Two wickets in three balls! And one of them was his 50th in T20 internationals.
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WICKET! McMullen c Salt b Archer 0 (Scotland 18-2)
One brings two! Another lifter, another skyer, this time looping straight to deep square, where Phil Salt barely has to move.
WICKET! Munsey c Banton b Archer 4 (Scotland 18-1)
Jofra strikes! He drops short and Munsey can only get a top edge, safely pouched by Banton running in from midwicket.
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2nd over: Scotland 13-0 (Munsey 4, Jones 7) It’s pace at both ends as Brook goes with Jamie Overton. When he strays onto the pads, Michael Jones tucks for two, then chips for four, but the rest of the over is thrifty. Honours even so far.
1st over: Scotland 6-0 (Munsey 4, Jones 1) Jofra Archer takes the new ball and gets it moving at 89mph. George Munsey, unperturbed, gets Scotland going with a clip off his legs for four.
Jos Buttler is playing his 150th T20 international, the fifth man and first Englishman to do so. He was presented with a commemorative cap by Eoin Morgan. The two of them both captained England to a World Cup. If Harry Brook is to join them, England need a big win today.
Pre-match reading
In this tournament Scotland have already played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata (twice). England haven’t, but they do have Phil Salt, who called this place home when he played for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 – and won the IPL. Our man at the World Cup, Simon Burnton, has been talking to Salt, who has more to say about authenticity than you might expect.
The first email of the day is Valentine-themed. “I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this on the OBO before,” says Tom van der Gucht, “but with the smorgasbord of sport coinciding with Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d drop it in again – one of the most romantic sporting tunes of all time. The Grandstand Theme reimagined by the Brett Donino Trio as a rousing love ballad of hope, passion and commitment.”
Warning to anyone who’s feeling loved-up: there may be a hint of irony here.
Teams: both unchanged
Scotland 1 George Munsey, 2 Michael Jones, 3 Brandon McMullen, 4 Richie Berrington (capt), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Michael Leask, 7 Matthew Cross (wkt), 8 Mark Watt, 9 Oliver Davidson, 10 Brad Wheal, 11 Brad Currie.
England 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wkt), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Liam Dawson, 11 Adil Rashid.
Toss: England win and bowl
Harry Brook wins the toss and chooses to bowl first. “We fancy a chase,” he tells Nasser Hussain. Richie Berrington says he would have batted first anyway.
Preamble
Morning everyone and Happy Valentine’s! What could be more romantic than England and Scotland, that old pair of exes, bumping into each other in a World Cup? Well, one thing that would be even more romantic is if they were to meet in Kolkata on the very same day that they are also meeting in the Calcutta Cup. And lo, it is coming to pass. It’s so improbable, it’s practically a rom-com already.
For Scotland’s cricketers, who only got their invitation to this party at the last minute, there is, as always, a burning desire to beat the Sassenachs. For the England team, as in all walks of life at all times, there’s a burning desire not to be embarrassed.
Harry Brook and co. may get a little red in the face just looking at the table for their group. England are fourth out of five; Scotland are second, behind only West Indies. Both have two points – one win and one defeat apiece – but Scotland’s win was a thumping one over Italy, while England’s was a narrow squeak against Nepal.
The upshot is that Scotland’s net run rate is vastly superior to that of the so-called professionals from south of the border. And, for England, this game is beginning to resemble a banana skin, when it should have been a deep-fried Mars bar.
Play starts at 3pm in Kolkata, which is 9.30am in England and, by coincidence, Scotland too. The toss is at 9am GMT and seems unlikely to be delayed as the forecast is for a hot sunny day with a 0% chance of rain. Anybody know the Hindi for “hostage to fortune”?
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