T20 World Cup: England beat Namibia to close in on Super 8 berth

North Sound (Antigua), June 16 (IANS) England defeated Namibia by 41 runs (DLS method) in a rain-hit Group B match of the T20 World Cup late on Saturday (IST) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

Harry Brook's 47 off 20 helped the defending champions to post a truncated match. After a mid-innings rain delay, the match was reduced from its original rain-delayed 11 overs a side to 10 overs a side, meaning Namibia had to chase a DLS-adjusted 127 to win

After a lengthy rain delay, when play finally began, Jos Buttler was bowled out for a duck by Ruben Trumpelmann in the second over, and Phil Salt fell to David Wiese in the next, leaving England at 13/2.

Then, Jonny Bairstow and Brook steadied the ship putting on a solid 56-run partnership before Bairstow was caught by wicketkeeper Zane Green off Bernard Scholtz.

Rain stopped play with England 82/3, and when they returned to the field Brook then got support from Moeen Ali (16) and later Liam Livingstone, who was run out in the final ball of the innings having faced four balls and scored 13.

With a sizeable target to chase, Namibia's opener started strong with Michael van Lingen and Nikolaas Davin putting up a 44-run stand before Davin retired out at the end of the sixth over.

It brought Wiese to the crease, promoted up the order, smashed two sixes and a four in successive Adil Rashid balls. But the England bowlers did what had to be done, restricting Namibia to 84/3.

Brook played a key role, taking catches to dismiss van Lingen off Chris Jordan and Wiese off Jofra Archer in the final over and was adjudged Player of the Match.

Brief scores: Brief scores: England 122/5 in 10 overs (Harry Brook 47*, Jonny Bairstow 31; Ruben Trumpelmann 2-31) beat Namibia 84/3 in 10 overs (Michael van Lingen 33, David Wiese 27; Jofra Archer 1-15) by 41 runs (DLS method).

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