After going down to Pakistan’s all-round show in their second 2019 World Cup game at Trent Bridge, England rode on Jason Roy and Jofra Archer’s brilliance to outplay Bangladesh in Cardiff. Here’s Lawrence Booth’s report from the 2020 Wisden Almanack.
First published in the 2020 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
England v Bangladesh
Match 12, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
June 8, 2019
Borne along by the power of Roy and the pace of Archer, England served up a stinging riposte to their defeat by Pakistan. Both had been fined for poor behaviour in Nottingham. but now competed with a near-gale in South Wales to blow away Bangladesh.
Roy crashed a superlative 153 from 121 balls out of 235 while he was in, eventually falling as he tried to hit Mehedi Hasan for a fourth successive six. Then, the wind behind him, Archer unleashed a five-over spell peaking at 95.1mph; excluding deliberate slower balls, he averaged 90.7, the fastest opening burst by an England one-day bowler since these things were first measured regularly in 2006.
Wood actually sent down the day’s quickest delivery (95.7), but Archer its most dramatic, the ball clipping the top of Soumya Sarkar’s off stump and flying on the full over the boundary by the River Taff.
England had looked untroubled after Roy and Bairstow began with their eighth century stand, and Buttler kept up the pace with a punishing 64 from 44. When Woakes and Plunkett carted 45 from the last 16 balls, they had what was briefly their highest World Cup total, well beyond 338 for eight in a tie against India at Bangalore in 2011.
Led by Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh reached a respectable 169 for two, but in nearly 29 overs. Two wickets in four balls – one to Plunkett, who had replaced Moeen Ali – set them back. By the time Stokes, en route to his best ODI figures since January 2014, yorked Shakib for a classy 121, the required rate had climbed to 16. Bairstow kept wicket because Buttler had bruised his hip, and held four catches, while Archer returned to dock the tail, and lift English spirits.
