Oman obliterated, England elated

Obliteration. 

That’s what it was. And that’s what it was predicted to be when England chose to bowl first with two 150kmph quicks at Sir Vivian Richard’s Stadium in Antigua. 

To Oman’s credit, they showed ample bravery from the first ball. Wicketkeeper batter Pratik Athavale, coming on the back of a fifty against Scotland, charged Jofra Archer on his first legal delivery itself. Great intent met great timing, and his quick hands received a boundary in reward. 

The next ball was there to be hit as well. However, England, anticipating mistimed shots from the Oman batters, had kept their fielders up in the inner ring. Athavale backed up just a bit and slapped the good-length delivery straight to cover. 

Being brave is one thing. Being skilful is another. Against high pace, both were like two tracks that diverged into the woods, and Oman chose the former because the latter was inaccessible to them. 

Skipper Aqib Ilyas looked sublime when he cut Archer through point for a four, just a delivery after Athavale’s dismissal. However, when Archer returned in the fourth over, he forced Ilyas to cut him again by bowling back of a length just wide of the off stump. Ilyas complied, but there was a fielder ready to grab it, standing much further up than you generally see a point fielder standing. 

When Mark Wood arrived in the sixth over, the same issues continued for Oman as Zeeshan Maqsood and Kashyap Prajapati got beaten by sheer ‘Woody’ pace. The heat was just too much to take for the Omani batters. They were jumping like a cat on a hot tin roof, trying to time the ball somehow. But it was time only that they lacked. 

If some hope was left with Ayaan Khan, Oman’s top allrounder, Wood shredded it by beating the batter again with pace and getting him to chop onto the stumps. 

When Adil Rashid arrived, he continued the demolition job of Oman’s lower order as Khalid Kail, Mehran Khan, Fayyaz Butt and Kaleemullah all fell to him. He was like a book in Latin to the Omani batters who were even struggling with their Arabic. 

The demolition was too quick and efficient for Oman even to catch their breath. Soon, they were back on the field, trying to defend 48 runs. England knew they had to chase it down as quickly as possible to vanquish any net run rate (NRR) related trouble that might jeopardise their Super Eight qualification. So every batter went gung ho from the word go, and the target was gobbled up in just 19 deliveries. 

While Oman displayed great bravery in seething deliveries from Wood (3/12) and Archer (3/12), they lacked the skill and experience to play at such a pace. Both bowlers kept targeting the length and back of a length area, kept bowling quickly, and the wickets fell like dominoes. 

The reason behind the demolition is quite apparent. At the associate level, teams rarely face 140 kmph pacers regularly. Forget playing the ones who have threatened to touch the top speed of Vande Bharat trains. 

Skipper Ilyas put on a brave face after England chased down their target of 48 runs in 19 deliveries. He revealed why there was such a striking skill gap between the two sides. 

“We’re used to playing bowlers that bowl in the 130-140kph range in associate cricket,” Ilyas said in the post-match presentation. 

“So it’s difficult when once in a year you play against bowlers bowling 150+, there is something in your mind. It’s a different thing when you’re used to playing such bowlers. You don’t really see fielders so up (close) playing against associates.”

England are back in the hunt for qualification with this win, as they now just need to win their last game against Namibia and hope that Australia defeats Scotland. If the Scots win, it’s curtains for Jos Buttler’s side. 

England will still ride into the beautiful Antiguan sunset with wind in their hair and cheeks red under the tropical sun. Meanwhile, after ending their disappointing campaign, Oman will return to the dinghy alleys of associate cricket. 

Maybe they’ll also hope that the next time they face such high pace, their bravery will meet the skill needed to play high pace at least tangentially, if not wholly or in full measure. After all, ‘maybe’ is all an associate team like Oman have. 

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