NEWS
Follow UsBy thrashing Oman by eight wickets, England made their path to the Super Eights much easier. The net run-rate gap has almost been covered, and now a win against Namibia on June 14 (Saturday) will help them advance to the next stage.
It has surely calmed a lot of nerves inside the England camp - who will aim to put a stamp of finality by getting the better of Namibia in Antigua. However, did the uncertainty about qualification create self-doubt in the English camp? Mark Wood admitted the same, stating it was very normal to have that kind of feeling.
“It feels great. Had to put a stamp on the game and push myself back into the shape of things and the table didn't look great obviously before today, but it looks a lot better now. Still work to do but I'm feeling a lot better about things after this game,” Wood said in the pre-match press conference in Antigua on June 14.
“You have doubts every game you play for England. I don't think there's a cricketer who doesn't have a little bit of self-doubt. But the nerves before the game for me - that's what helps people bowl fast as well because you have that nervous energy, that excitement.
“Because you have a little bit of doubt. I mean, I could have gotten five wickets last game. I still have doubts about this game. That's just the way it is. You want to perform your all down in front of cameras, the millions of people watching, the media, opposition.”
After the game against Scotland was washed out and then the defending champions lost to Australia, the equation became very different for England. They needed to win by a big margin against Oman, which they did by clinching the victory in 3.1 overs. Batting first, Oman were bundled out for 47 runs, with Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, and Jofra Archer claiming all 10 wickets between them.
“I think we were ruthless as a group as a bowling unit and I think we needed that after probably the last performance where probably didn't adapt to the conditions as well, But I feel when we went out to bat, it wasn't just a case of winning the game. We knew we were going to try and get on with this pretty quickly. So, it was all set up for in that sort of instance and I think the batters did a great job in finishing it quickly,” Wood said.
England won’t have a chance to slack off in the Namibia game, as it’s a must for them to progress to the Super Eights. Wood said that they wouldn’t want anyn other way. “I think first and foremost, it's just about trying to win the game and then we'll deal with whatever comes. I think that was what Jos has sort of hammered in; it's like, cannot look past the fact that we need to play better cricket and we trained really well this week.
"There was good intensity in the practice. I felt and then today we were right on it and right up for it. Not that we weren't up for the other games, it's just that when our backs were up against the wall, there were obviously a few negatives flying around and questions being asked and I'm really pleased for the bowling unit that we came out and managed to put on a performance,” the pacer said.
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