England have managed to keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive with a victory over Namibia and will now qualify for the next round if rivals Australia beat Scotland.
The match had been due to begin at 6pm UK time but heavy showers at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, threatened to rain off the game – which would have meant defending champions England would have been out of the tournament.
It would have allowed cricketing minnows Scotland to go through instead, providing a major shock.
On Saturday, after multiple pitch inspections, the start time in the Caribbean was eventually set for 9pm UK time and the match reduced to 11 overs a side.
Jos Buttler’s side managed to bat for eight overs – reaching 82-3 – before rain showers returned and briefly forced both sides off the pitch – intensifying the anxiety for England fans.
In the end, England’s innings was cut to 10 overs and they finished on 122-5.
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Rain delays the start England’s match against Namibia. Pic: AP
Namibia were set an adjusted target of 127 and finished on 84-3 at the end of their 10 overs.
The win puts England tied in second place in Group B, with Scotland.
Their place in the next round, the Super 8s, now depends on the result of Scotland and Australia’s match, which begins at 1.30am Sunday BST.
A loss for Scotland – which is largely expected – will put England through, thanks to their run rate. A win will put England out, despite their win on Saturday.
This is the second of England’s group matches to be affected by rain. Their opening clash, against Scotland, was abandoned due to bad weather.
They then lost to Australia before delivering a record-breaking win against Oman.
So far, a number of T20 World Cup matches have been affected by rain, prompting anger from some in cricket circles at the choice of the venues – with the Caribbean’s rainy season starting in June.
Among the teams which now cannot progress – in part because of rain-hit matches – are Pakistan, which had been expected to be one of the contenders.
