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14th over: Scotland 123-5 (Leask 1, Cross 7) So Brook went back to spin at both ends and it worked a treat. Now he gives Rashid a slip,. encouraging the leg-break. It’s looking like an immaculate over until Matthew Cross plays a resounding sweep for four. The Scots can still dream of reaching 180.
ShareWICKET! Berrington LBW b Rashid 49 (115-5)
Rashid returns and goes straight to his strong point, the googly. Berrington misses, the finger goes up, Berrington reviews, the ball is only brushing leg stump but that means umpire’s call and goodnight Richie. The end of a captain’s innings – no fifty but a very fine 49 off 32 balls, with five fours and two handsome sixes.
13th over: Scotland 115-4 (Berrington 49, Leask 1) Dawson had just been belted over his shoulder for another six by Berrington, so that was a great retort. But what a good partnership – 71 off only 6.5 overs, and they came together with Scotland in trouble.
England have one over to go from Dawson, two from Rashid and Curran, and one each from Archer and Overton. Doesn’t look as if Brook fancies his part-timers on this trampoline.
Updated at 05.33 EST
WICKET! Bruce c Curran b Dawson 24 (Scotland 113-4)
It’s not the big one, but it’ll do! Bruce goes for the slog-sweep, doesn’t get hold of it and picks out Sam Curran at deep square.
Updated at 05.30 EST
12th over: Scotland 105-3 (Berrington 41, Bruce 23) Brook goes from spin at both ends to seam at both ends. Overton returns and Bruce plays a lovely lofted glide to the backward-point boundary. Brook now has only one over from Overton (3-0-21-0) up his sleeve, and, more importantly, only one from Archer (3-0-13-2).
11th over: Scotland 97-3 (Berrington 39, Bruce 17) At moments like this, when the pressure is on, the fielding captain needs to be in control, or at least give that impression. Whether Harry Brook has that quality, we still don’t know. But his latest move goes OK: he takes Rashid off and brings back Curran, who concedes six singles (and a wide) and avoids further carnage. For his next trick, Brook has to get rid of Berrington.
Updated at 05.22 EST
10th over: Scotland 90-3 (Berrington 36, Bruce 14) Dawson does well for a few balls, either firing it into the pads or going slower and wider outside off. But then he falls apart, giving Berrington a long hop that is pulled straight back past him, and a full one that’s swept for four. Berrington has 36 off only 23 balls, and at the halfway mark he has brought his team right back into it.
9th over: Scotland 77-3 (Berrington 25, Bruce 13) Do you remember when an over from Rashid went for 24 against West Indies? The Scots seem to, because they’ve just taken 18 off this one. Berrington starts with a pull for four, then both batters hit a straight drive for six that may soon be seen in their highlights reel. Game on!
Richie Berrington hits out. Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 05.16 EST
8th over: Scotland 59-3 (Berrington 14, Bruce 6) Liam Dawson is on too, so it’s senior spin from both ends and the youngest of the four protagonists is Tom Bruce, born 34 years ago in Te Kuiti, New Zealand. Berrington, using the crease well, steps away to thump Dawson to the cover boundary.
7th over: Scotland 50-3 (Berrington 9, Bruce 2) As Adil Rashid comes on, Scotland’s supporting cast rise to the challenge. Berrington plays a lap for four, there are four singles, and the only scare is an LBW shout as Berrington misses the googly, but it’s going down the leg side.
6th over: Scotland 42-3 (Berrington 3, Bruce 0) Sam Curran nearly always makes things happen: in this case, three successive boundaries and a big, big wicket. So the powerplay ends with England well on top. Jones has shown that there are plenty of runs in this bouncy pitch, but somebody else is going to have to make most of them.
ShareWICKET! Jones c Bethell b Curran 33 (Scotland 42-3)
The big one! Jones flays Curran’s first three balls for four, four and six, then fatally fails to middle a slower ball.
Sam Curran celebrates after dismissing Michael Jones. Photograph: Pankaj Nangia/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 05.24 EST
5th over: Scotland 28-2 (Jones 19, Berrington 3) Another good over from Archer, just three from it. The new batter, Richie Berrington, is the oldest player in the match – at 38 and three-quarters he’s even older than Adil Rashid, who turns 38 on Tuesday.
4th over: Scotland 25-2 (Jones 18, Berrington 1) Encouraged by those scalps, Harry Brook keeps Jamie Overton on. That’s fine by Michael Jones, who is already playing a lone hand. He flicks a yorker for four, then takes a couple of singles. He has 18 off 14 balls, while his team-mates have mustered only 5 off 10.
3rd over: Scotland 18-2 (Jones 12, Berrington 0) Jofra Archer hadn’t been on form, but he is now. Two wickets in three balls! And one of them was his 50th in T20 internationals.
Updated at 04.46 EST
WICKET! McMullen c Salt b Archer 0 (Scotland 18-2)
One brings two! Another lifter, another skyer, this time looping straight to deep square, where Phil Salt barely has to move.
ShareWICKET! Munsey c Banton b Archer 4 (Scotland 18-1)
Jofra strikes! He drops short and Munsey can only get a top edge, safely pouched by Banton running in from midwicket.
Munsey walks after his dismissal. Photograph: Bikas Das/APShare
Updated at 04.49 EST
2nd over: Scotland 13-0 (Munsey 4, Jones 7) It’s pace at both ends as Brook goes with Jamie Overton. When he strays onto the pads, Michael Jones tucks for two, then chips for four, but the rest of the over is thrifty. Honours even so far.
1st over: Scotland 6-0 (Munsey 4, Jones 1) Jofra Archer takes the new ball and gets it moving at 89mph. George Munsey, unperturbed, gets Scotland going with a clip off his legs for four.
Jos Buttler is playing his 150th T20 international, the fifth man and first Englishman to do so. He was presented with a commemorative cap by Eoin Morgan. The two of them both captained England to a World Cup. If Harry Brook is to join them, England need a big win today.
SharePre-match reading
In this tournament Scotland have already played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata (twice). England haven’t, but they do have Phil Salt, who called this place home when he played for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 – and won the IPL. Our man at the World Cup, Simon Burnton, has been talking to Salt, who has more to say about authenticity than you might expect.
The first email of the day is Valentine-themed. “I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this on the OBO before,” says Tom van der Gucht, “but with the smorgasbord of sport coinciding with Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d drop it in again – one of the most romantic sporting tunes of all time. The Grandstand Theme reimagined by the Brett Donino Trio as a rousing love ballad of hope, passion and commitment.”
Warning to anyone who’s feeling loved-up: there may be a hint of irony here.
ShareTeams: both unchanged
Scotland 1 George Munsey, 2 Michael Jones, 3 Brandon McMullen, 4 Richie Berrington (capt), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Michael Leask, 7 Matthew Cross (wkt), 8 Mark Watt, 9 Oliver Davidson, 10 Brad Wheal, 11 Brad Currie.
England 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wkt), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Liam Dawson, 11 Adil Rashid.
ShareToss: England win and bowl
Harry Brook wins the toss and chooses to bowl first. “We fancy a chase,” he tells Nasser Hussain. Richie Berrington says he would have batted first anyway.
SharePreamble
Morning everyone and Happy Valentine’s! What could be more romantic than England and Scotland, that old pair of exes, bumping into each other in a World Cup? Well, one thing that would be even more romantic is if they were to meet in Kolkata on the very same day that they are also meeting in the Calcutta Cup. And lo, it is coming to pass. It’s so improbable, it’s practically a rom-com already.
For Scotland’s cricketers, who only got their invitation to this party at the last minute, there is, as always, a burning desire to beat the Sassenachs. For the England team, as in all walks of life at all times, there’s a burning desire not to be embarrassed.
Harry Brook and co. may get a little red in the face just looking at the table for their group. England are fourth out of five; Scotland are second, behind only West Indies. Both have two points – one win and one defeat apiece – but Scotland’s win was a thumping one over Italy, while England’s was a narrow squeak against Nepal.
The upshot is that Scotland’s net run rate is vastly superior to that of the so-called professionals from south of the border. And, for England, this game is beginning to resemble a banana skin, when it should have been a deep-fried Mars bar.
Play starts at 3pm in Kolkata, which is 9.30am in England and, by coincidence, Scotland too. The toss is at 9am GMT and seems unlikely to be delayed as the forecast is for a hot sunny day with a 0% chance of rain. Anybody know the Hindi for “hostage to fortune”?
Updated at 03.47 EST