England’s T20 World Cup predicament goes far beyond their

Australia meet Scotland in St Lucia on Saturday with the potential for a 1999 World Cup-style controversy in the air

They were showing India v Pakistan in the bar at Bridgetown airport on Sunday, this World Cup having been pleasingly visible in the Caribbean. But as England supporters watched that nail-biter unfold over a cold bottle of Banks before the flight to Antigua, Scotland were already in the land of sea and sun, gleefully lining up a week at the last-chance saloon for the Auld Enemy.

Coming 24 hours after England were out-thought and outplayed by Australia at Kensington Oval, and staged in parallel to Pakistan’s big flop in the Big Apple, that seven-wicket victory against Oman at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has put Richie Berrington’s side on the cusp of swiping their boarding passes to the Super Eights themselves. Knocking off a target of 151 with 41 balls to spare, super-charging their net run-rate in the process, they could scarcely have done more.