 The other consideration is the most influential performer of the tournament so far: rain. There were cats and dogs in Brisbane earlier today, but the Gabba has one of the quickest-drying outfields in world cricket – partly thanks to a drain built by convicts in the 1890s, and no I'm not making this up – and Afghanistan are playing Sri Lanka as I type. In short, we should get a game. That's good news for England, because another washout would be akin to them being refused entry to the last-chance saloon. It's not a place they like to visit, but at least they have frequented it before. The 2019 World Cup ended so gloriously that it's easy to forget how close England came to a stunning humiliation. After losing to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia, they had to win their last two group games – against India and New Zealand – just to reach the semi-finals. Before the India match, Eoin Morgan told his team, who had started batting meekly after four years of record-breaking brutality, that, if they were to fail, it should be on their terms. Against India, they batted first – and were 160/0 after 22 overs. You know the rest. There's no doubt England are under serious pressure tonight, especially with New Zealand's frightening form, but their win-or-bust position gives th){kind=link}
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England could still qualify for the semi-finals even if they are beaten today, but they would first need Afghanistan to beat Australia on Friday. Even in a tournament full of upsets, it’s hard to see that happening.
The early game has just finished, with Sri Lanka winning fairly comfortably against Afghanistan. That moves them above England in the group, and gives them an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals. But it doesn’t change England’s task.
Sometimes, revenge is a dish best served quietly. New Zealand didn’t complain about their desperately unfortunate defeat in the 2019 World Cup final, and though they probably don’t believe in the concept of revenge, there was plenty of catharsis when they beat England in the semi-final of last year’s T20 World Cup. Now they have the chance to eliminate England again.
This New Zealand team is a hugely likeable mixture of the old (Tim Southee and Trent Boult have taken 10 wickets for 55 in this tournament, and Southee has a barely believable economy rate of 2.91) and the new (Finn Allen, who got them going with an audacious assault against Australia, and Glenn Phillips, who played in last year’s tournament but has gone to another level this year). They are an extremely fine cricket team.