Persistent showers at Kensington force match to be called off

England’s T20 World Cup title defense got off to a slippery start at Kensington Oval on Tuesday.

The 2022 champions would have fancied their chances against minnows Scotland in their opening match, but ended up having to share the spoils when heavy showers brought an end to the contest at 2:48 p.m. with them not having faced a single ball in their run chase.

Had the heavens not opened up, England would have been left with a tricky chase of 109 from 10 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern (DLS) method, after Scotland’s opening batsmen shared an impressive unbeaten opening stand of 90 from 10 overs.

It was a surprising show of defiance from Michael Jones, who ended 45 not out off 30 balls and George Munsey who made 41 not out from 31 balls, against a highly rated England bowling attack that featured speedsters Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.

Inclement weather had earlier delayed the scheduled 10:30 a.m. start by almost an hour, as ground staff worked diligently to remove damp spots on the pitch.

The players finally took to the field at 11:22 a.m. under overcast skies and England would have had dreams of wrapping up the contest in quick time against their lower rated opponents.

However, Munsey and Jones had other ideas.

While Wood only conceded six runs from the first ball, Archer, who was playing in his first international match in Barbados, went for 10 runs in his first and the second of the innings.

Munsey then smashed off-spinner Moeen Ali behind square for two boundaries in the next over, as Scotland rushed to 26-0.

Barbadian Chris Jordan was taken to the cleaners by Jones, who clobbered the second ball of the sixth over for six and followed up with two consecutive boundaries through cover and midwicket.

A downpour forced a stoppage in the seventh over with Scotland cruising at 51-0.

The lengthy delay resulted in the match being reduced to 10 overs per side.

With quick runs a priority for Scotland, the two batsmen belted leg-spinner Adil Rashid for 18 runs in the eighth over.

In all, Munsey and Jones scored 36 runs off the final three overs to get Scotland up to their eventual target and set up a tantalizing run chase.

Both batsmen struck four boundaries and two sixes in their innings.

However, more heavy showers brought a premature end to the contest, much to the dismay of England.

England captain Jos Buttler said he was not surprised by Scotland’s gutsy performance.

“We were confident coming into the game, obviously expected a tough challenge. There’s no easy games at all, but we were confident and the disappointment is for everyone isn’t it, both sides and all the crowd here,” he said.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s skipper Richie Berrington described the result as “frustrating”.

“Everyone’s frustrated at not getting a game in. But some positives to take from it at least. The guys who went out to the middle I thought did a really good job. And obviously now, looking ahead, they’ve had some time out there, so we can take some things from that. But yeah, certainly
frustrated that we couldn’t get a full game in,” Berrington said.

The result means England’s next match on Saturday against Australia at the same venue will be a crucial clash, with the defending champs in dire need of a victory.

Scotland’s next opponents will be Namibia on Thursday. (RB)