England qualify for Super 8

England qualify for Super 8

Collingwood this time has rain to thank

Providence (Guyana), May 5: England entered the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup after heavy downpour washed out their crucial Group D match against Ireland here.

With each team getting one point, England qualified for the Super Eight stage, thanks to their superior net run-rate. England have a net run-rate of -0.452, better than Ireland’s -3.500 after the two group matches. Hosts West Indies have already qualified as the top team from the Group D.

Put into bat, England went off to a dismal start but Eoin Morgan’s determined 37-ball 45 helped them eke out a moderate 120 for eight yesterday.

Morgan, who struck five fours, found good support from Luke Wright (20 off 24). The duo came together when the team was struggling at 49 for four and added 41 runs for the fifth wicket partnership to give a timely recovery.

Rain halted the match soon after Ireland started chasing the victory target of 121. They were four for no loss in 1.2 overs when the match was halted due to heavy downpour.