Brook wants England to give USA a 'good battering'

Harry Brook and Moeen AliImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

BBC Test Match Special will have live commentary of England v USA from 15:15 BST on Sunday, with live-text commentary with in-play clips on the BBC Sport website & app

Batter Harry Brook hopes England can give the United States "a good battering" to secure their place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

The sides meet in Barbados on Sunday at 15:30 BST and a large victory for England would all but secure them a place in the knockout stages.

The group could still finish with England, West Indies and South Africa on four points but if Jos Buttler's side win by a good margin they would go through via their net run-rate.

"We’ve got to win and then obviously see how we are on net run-rate but the main thing is to definitely get that win," Brook said.

"We’ve played in Barbados quite a lot the past six months so we know the conditions, we know the wind and the pitch as well so hopefully we can go out there and give them a good battering."

England only got to the Super 8 stage via their net run-rate after big wins against Oman and Namibia, plus Scotland's dramatic defeat by Australia.

If England win and South Africa beat West Indies later on Sunday (01:30 BST Monday) the rate will be irrelevant and England will go through in second place.

If West Indies win then it will again be used to determine England's fate, although they remain in a healthy position.

If the game is washed out, and there is rain in the forecast for Sunday, England will be relying on the Proteas to win for them to go through.

"We’ve been there before," Brook said. "We’ve got to concentrate on winning it first and then we’ll have a chat and see what the run-rate says."

The USA have been one of the stories of this World Cup, having qualified from a group involving India and Pakistan in the first stage.

They have lost both of their Super 8s matches, however - first against South Africa and then West Indies.

England could have moved to the brink of qualification had they beaten the Proteas on Friday but were beaten in a last-over thriller.

The meeting with the USA will be the first between in sides at the top level.

"I haven’t actually seen them play, just a few highlights here and there of their bowlers," Brook said.

"But we’ll do that [on Saturday], do our analysis and have a proper look to make sure that we’re ready for the game."

Media caption,

South Africa beat England in tight thriller