Key events
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.
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.
WICKET! 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.
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.
Pre-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.
Teams: 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.
Toss: 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.
Preamble
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”?